Alantro Communications Now Sampling 22Mbps 802.11b WLAN Baseband Processor to Early Access Customers.

Business Editors/Technology Writers

LA JOLLA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 10, 2000

Alantro Communications, a semiconductor company developing high-speed, high-performance products for wireless local area networks (WLAN), will give a paper at this week's IEEE 802.11 meeting describing operation of working samples at 22Mbps (megabits per second) of its Baseband processor. Alantro, the first company with operational silicon to achieve this high level of performance, is now shipping samples of this 22Mbps Baseband processor to customers.

Alantro's sample chip is fully compatible with the IEEE 802.11b wireless local area network standard, while now extending the solution to 22Mbps. By using breakthrough coding algorithms, Alantro's higher data-rate chip seamlessly integrates the existing modulation modes of IEEE 802.11b, presently capped at 11Mbps. The company's technology innovations also effectively address today's known limitations in being able to fully attain the promise of 11Mbps performance. These advantages allow full backwards compatibility with existing WLAN implementations at the same projected price points as today's chip solutions.

Alantro has been an active participant in the standardization of WLAN technology within the IEEE 802.11 group and is helping guide the adoption of higher-rate extensions within the standards body. Alantro is also a charter member of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) whose mission is to promote and insure Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) interoperability between 802.11b WLAN products.

Extending 802.11b wireless LANs to 22Mbps will achieve performance greatly exceeding that of 10Mbps Ethernet connections that are pervasive in today's wired office environment. It will also allow higher speed broadband connectivity throughout the home and office without the need for specialized wiring, as well as rapidly enable new applications, such as high definition digital TV and streaming, high quality video.

"Shipping working 22Mbps 802.11b samples to our early access partners is a significant achievement in demonstrating the viability of the proposed high-rate extension," stated Dr. Chris Heegard, Chairman and CEO of Alantro Communications. "Our ability to now meet the demand for higher data rates, while fully complying with existing performance specifications, will stimulate the creation of many high volume and high value new product categories."

Given the significant market interest in these higher rate applications, the IEEE 802.11 standards committee established a High Rate Study Group in March 2000, tasked with exploring a higher rate interoperable extension to the current standard. Alantro Communications will be presenting its working technology - embodied in its 22Mbps Baseband processor samples -- to the Study Group for consideration of acceptance into the standard at the ongoing IEEE 802.11 meeting in La Jolla.

About Alantro Communications

Alantro Communications specializes in high-performance, physical-layer communications technology. The company was founded in 1997 in Santa Rosa, California - part of California's burgeoning "Telecom Valley" and located in the heart of Sonoma County's beautiful wine country. Alantro Communications is currently developing extremely efficient, IEEE 802.11 compliant, wireless LAN technology with advanced performance and high-speed capabilities. Alantro has unique expertise in existing and emerging forward error control (FEC) and modulation/demodulation technology. Alantro also specializes in Turbo Coding, a next generation, very high performance FEC methodology. Additional information can be found on the web at www.alantro.com.