Intel is planning to drop royalty fees for its Thunderbolt 3 technology, in hopes of broadening its adoption.
According to a Wired report, the protocol specification for the data-transfer technology will will be released under a non-exclusive license next year.
Part of the plans will see Thunderbolt 3 integrated into future CPUs, meaning less space will be needed on the Mac or PC’s logic board. That will also remove the need for a Thunderbolt controller, Intel says.
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There could also be knock-on effects for the USB-C technology, which shares the same connector design. This move could see more and more manufacturers adopt USB-C as main charging and data transfer method.
By eliminating the costs of using Thunderbolt 3, manufacturers may now be more likely to adopt the USB-C standard, unburdened by licensing fees on Intel’s end.
Thunderbolt 3 is able to transfer data at 40Gbps, while it can also be used to power devices and peripherals like 4K monitors.
“We think the first thing is going to drive broader adoption and deployment of Thunderbolt 3 in PCs,” says Jason Ziller, Intel’s lead for Thunderbolt development.
“The second will drive also broader adoption in the ecosystem, with a lot of different peripherals and other devices.”
Will making Thunderbolt 3 free to use boost adoption? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.