Broadcom CEO Scott McGregor

Broadcom Inc. has quietly left a key industry consortium that is trying to bring much needed communications standards to the connected universe in what marks the first major setback on the long and predictably bumpy road toward universal interoperability.

Broadcom was one of the six vendors that helped launch the Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC) in July along with Dell Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Amtel Corp.. Intel Corp. and middleware maker Wind River Systems Inc.. The group, which has since ballooned in size to include 85 members, aims to create a common platform for exchanging data among every type of connected device, from smartphones to sensor-equipped jet engines.

Although the loss of the world’s largest provider of Wi-Fi processors represents a significant hit, it isn’t reflective of the broader movement toward the so-called “Internet of things” – or even Broadcom’s interest.

The OIC emerged a full eight months after Qualcomm Connected Experiences, Inc., a specially-created unit of the Intel competitor, recruited a group of top vendors to establish the AllSeen Alliance with the same goal of bringing interoperability to the connected universe. In the period between the launches, the industry witnessed two more standardization initiatives: the UK-backed HyperCat, which proposes a unifying overlay for existing device-to-device communications technologies, and the newer Industrial Internet Consortium.

All of the groups  are pursuing the same basic goal: a set of interfaces and data exchange standards that a multitude of connected devices can share. No official explanation has been given for the semiconductor’s giant decision to quit the initiative, but GigaOm’s Stacey Higginbotham cited an anonymous  source as saying that the company objected to intellectual licensing agreements that prevented members from suing over intellectual property they donated to the effort. This raises the possibility that the company might switch sides to the Qualcomm-led AllSeen Alliance, which has no such policy. That would be a major loss for the Intel camp and an equal victory for its rival.