PCI-SIG, MIPI Alliance bringing PCIe to mobiles

At the Mobile World Congress, PCI-SIG, and MIPI Alliance said they have started to the process of review on their M-PCIe (Mobile PCI Express) specification.

Once completed, it will be available for developers to use to allow the PCI Express (PCIe) architecture to operate over the MIPI M-PHY physical layer technology.

According to Joel Huloux, Chairman of the Board, MIPI Alliance, this will extend the PCIe I/O standard to mobile devices including thin laptops, tablets and smartphones. The M-PCIe specification is expected to be available to PCI-SIG members in early Q2 on the PCI-SIG website.

He said the adaptation of PCIe protocols to operate over the M-PHY physical layer provides the mobile industry with a low-power, scalable solution that enables interoperability and a consistent user experience across multiple devices.

The layered architecture of the PCIe I/O technology facilitates the integration of the power-efficient M-PHY with its extensible protocol stack to deliver best-in-class and highly scalable I/O functionality for mobile devices.

“M-PCIe brings the necessary architecture to support advancement in tablets and smartphones as they take on the role of primary computing devices,” said Al Yanes, Chairman and President, PCI-SIG.

The initial application of this new capability will probably be seen first in high-performance wireless communications with other applications based on device design requirements.

Implementations are expected in the handheld device market, including smartphones, tablets and other ultra-low power applications. Implementers of this technology must be members of both PCI-SIG and MIPI Alliance in order to leverage member benefits, including access to licensing rights and specification evolutions.