Rumour Control: Intel's Light Peak to ditch light

December 13, 2010 | 15:54

Tags: #fibre-optic #light-peak #lightpeak #optical #optical-fibre #usb-30

Companies: #intel

Intel might be betting heavily on its Light Peak technology, but it looks like initial versions of what senior fellow Kevin Kahn famously described as 'the last cable you'll ever need' won't actually use light at all.

That's the claim being put forward by an unnamed 'industry source' familiar with Intel's plans for its ultra-fast interconnect technology, who told CNET that initial versions of Light Peak will be based on copper cabling rather than fibre-optic.

Interestingly, the source's comments, which have been neither confirmed nor denied by the chip giant, indicate that the sudden shift away from optical networking to traditional electrical interconnections won't affect the planned speed of Light Peak, which is still set at 10Gb/sec bi-directionally.

Despite the move to copper cabling, Light Peak is still reported to be on track, with a launch expected in the first half of 2011. Both Sony and Apple are believed to be planning devices based around Light Peak technology, although it's not known whether the purported systems will include USB 3 alongside Light Peak.

Do you think that Light Peak is sounding more and more unlikely to be the killer cable that Intel is clearly hoping for, or will you be watching the launch with interest in the hope of 10Gb/sec external storage devices? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
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