LIVE FROM CTIA WIRELESS 2012: Qualcomm and Samsung are supporting a new initiative aimed at delivering a specification that will enable wireless power charging. The two big name players are joined in the scheme – called the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) – by operator SK Telecom and lesson-known vendors Ever Win International, Gill Industries, Peiker Acustic and Powermat Technologies.

The alliance was unveiled on the opening afternoon of CTIA and is the latest industry effort to help standardise a rather disparate sector. Rival alliance Wireless Power Consortium was established in 2008, while products and companies such as E-Coupled, Witricity and Powermat have been in existence for five years.

“Wireless power is not new,” said Jason dePreaux, research manager at IMS Research. “The industry will only reach its potential if wireless power can become low cost, convenient and universal. This is still a very immature market.”

Key to the initiative’s efforts is ensuring the ability to “simultaneously charge multiple devices,  place devices within a general area on those surfaces, and charge devices through surfaces such as nightstands, automobile consoles, and office desks.”

To this end the group aims to begin the certification process later this year or early 2013. “We want to encourage other companies to join us,” commented Edward Tiedemann, SVP of engineering at Qualcomm.

According to IMS Research, shipments of wireless power-enabled devices are projected to surpass 100 million by 2015.