Intel plans to make the specification for a USB 3.0 host controller freely available during the second half of this year, hitting back at rumors it wanted to keep the technology for itself.
The specification will be made available under a contract that doesn't require royalty payments. "Basically: free, gratis, unpaid, zero dollars, free of charge, at no cost, on the house," Nick Knupffer, an Intel spokesman, wrote on a company blog.
The USB 3.0 specification is being developed by the USB 3.0 Promoter Group. The group counts Intel, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, NXP Semiconductors, NEC and Texas Instruments as members.