A new chipset will allow network device makers to create a product that can communicate at high speeds via Ultrawideband wireless, coaxial cables and Ethernet cables - all at the same time.

The CoAir chipset by Sigma Designs was presented on a panel and demonstrated at the Connections 2008 conference in Santa Clara. The company says the chipset can deliver multiple independent streams of video and data over coax, Ethernet cable and wireless without compromising quality and throughput.

The chipset is intended for networking gear that would go into homes, as it would use coax lines that are already in many homes for cable TV service and would be able to achieve "whole home coverage, up to 330 ft."

Sigma says the chipset is based on the WiMedia standard and can reach data rates of up to 480Mbps over the UWB wireless connection. The main attraction is in-room video streaming. Between rooms, data and video can traverse coax lines, also up to 480Mbps. Gigabit Ethernet over UTP wiring can be used simultaneously.

Sigma is pitching the chipset at service providers and network gear makers who would offer the networking capability in a home setting, where rewiring would be an issue. The UWB capability offers high bandwidth, with no new cabling needed, and the coax support allows homeowners to use the cable TV wiring in their homes.

The chipset is made up of a radio-frequency chip, which supports three antennas, and a baseband chip, which integrates the OFDM PHY baseband, MAC and a RISC processor.

Jeff Caruso is site editor at Network World.