The USB 3.0 Promoter Group on Monday announced development of a SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) enhancement that will add a much higher data rate, delivering up to twice the data through-put performance of existing SuperSpeed USB over enhanced, fully backward compatible USB connectors and cables. This supplement to the USB 3.0 specification is anticipated to be completed by the middle of 2013.

“Doubling SuperSpeed USB performance will be especially beneficial for emerging USB docking and storage applications,” said Brad Saunders, USB 3.0 promoter group chairman.

Key characteristics of the higher-rate SuperSpeed USB solution include 10Gb/s USB data rate, compatibility with existing cables and connectors, improved data encoding for more efficient data transfer leading to higher throughput and improved I/O power efficiency, compatibility with existing USB 3.0 software stacks and device class protocols and so on. Thanks to higher power efficiency as well as 10Gb/s performance, the new USB 3.0-compatible devices will be able to compete against Thunderbolt-powered products in terms of speed.

Intel Corp. said it is fully committed to delivering 10Gb/s USB performance to forthcoming PC platforms while retaining compatibility with the existing USB ecosystem to help to satisfy user demand for low-cost, higher-performance solutions.

“For our customers, 10Gb/s USB represents an important evolution in this ubiquitous I/O standard. By doubling the bandwidth while maintaining full backwards compatibility with the broad ecosystem of USB peripherals and software, we will be able to better meet the needs of our customers with this high-speed technology,” said Mark VandenBrink, vice president and chief technology officer of PC global business unit at HP.

The 10Gb/s SuperSpeed USB update is targeted for industry review during the first quarter of this year.

Tags: USB, Intel, Microsoft, HP, Hewlett-Packard