Atheros ``Rearchitects'' the Radio; ``Radio-on-a-Chip'' Shatters Wireless LAN Price/Performance Barrier.

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

NetWorld Interop Atlanta 2000

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 2000

Atheros Communications today announced a new chipset based on its fundamental rearchitecture of the radio to offer standards-based, high-speed, low-cost wireless local area network (LAN) connections within offices and homes.

The fast, low-powered Atheros(TM) AR5000 chipset delivers true "radio-on-a-chip" (RoC) capabilities and represents a breakthrough over existing wireless chipset technologies that offer lower performance and are far more complex and expensive. The highly integrated Atheros technology provides the first two-chip, all-CMOS end-to-end solution (eliminating the expense of a separate power amplifier, SAW filter, or MAC) for next-generation 5-GHz wireless LANs.

Operating at speeds up to 72 Mbps, the Atheros AR5000 chipset is priced below today's less-capable 11 Mbps chipsets that sell in volume for $35 or more. The introduction of the Atheros AR5000 product enables ubiquitous, economical connections in the office and home between devices like personal computers, printers and "Access Points"--which are gateways for connecting wireless users to a wired infrastructure such as a corporate backbone, or a DSL or cable modem in the home. The AR5000 solution will also afford economical placement of these Access Points in airports and hotels, providing travelers with high-speed connections to the Internet.

In the future, customers will leverage Atheros' breakthrough RoC technology to offer scalable, transparent connections for all information and entertainment appliances including modems, set-top boxes, satellite dishes, remote controls, telephones, televisions, PCs, CD players, VCRs, DVD players and other devices, which today are largely unable to communicate or work with each other.

The Atheros AR5000 chipset, operating at up to 54 Mbps, is compliant with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) new 802.11a 5-GHz wireless LAN standard--representing a five times improvement in data rates over the 2.4-GHz standard currently shipping. The chipset also includes an enhanced "turbo mode" that supports speeds up to 72 Mbps and extended ranges.

"Our RoC solution enables the creation of powerful and flexible voice and data wireless networks at unprecedented price-points," said Rich Redelfs, president and CEO of the two-year-old Atheros. "It cuts through the Gordian Knot of twisted-pair wiring, enabling the wireless LAN to take its rightful place in the office and home as the preferred connectivity solution."

"Atheros has stepped back and fundamentally rearchitected radio design," explained Dr. John Hennessy, board chair of Atheros, a pioneer in the development of RISC chip technology, and the recently named president of Stanford University. "When Professor Teresa Meng came to me with her concept for a simple and fast radio architecture in 1998, it was clear that it could impact radio technology in the same way that simple and fast RISC technology redefined microprocessing." This meeting led to the creation of Atheros, and the beginning of the productization of a new concept in radio/wireless technology.

Atheros' technology breakthrough enables the shrinking of what were three- and four-chip 11 Mbps solutions into a higher-speed two-chip set that can fit on a single side of a credit-card-sized PC Card. This technology helps cut materials and manufacturing costs drastically. By "starting with a clean sheet of paper," Atheros has been able to take a fundamentally fresh look at the way radio frequency (RF) components work with each other. This systems approach has enabled Atheros to implement a series of innovations such as the integration of the power amplifier, and the elimination of SAW filters and other components that conventional RF wisdom suggested needed to be separate. The end result is a highly integrated chip architecture designed for low-cost, standard-process CMOS fabrication.

Existing wireless LAN chipsets require such exotic and expensive materials as gallium arsenide (GaAs) or silicon germanium (SiGe), and use approximately six times the energy of the Atheros solution. Because GaAs and SiGe are niche chip technologies, their fabrication costs are much higher than standard-process CMOS. In addition, Atheros' energy-saving RoC solution enables battery-powered devices, such as laptop computers, to communicate at even higher-speeds without draining their batteries. With CMOS--the technology used to manufacture about 95 percent of all chips today--Atheros has been able to reduce power, leverage manufacturing economies, and ride the curve of future cost reductions as predicted by Moore's Law.

Atheros' AR5000 chipset is produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world's largest semiconductor foundry. "We are happy to produce the AR5000 chipset on our standard CMOS logic process and expand our service to the exciting wireless communications space," said Ed Ross, president of TSMC North America.

Pricing and Availability

The Atheros AR5000 chipset is priced under $35 in 100,000-unit volumes. It will be available in volume in the second quarter of next year, with samples available sooner. Atheros will be publicly demonstrating the AR5000 chipset for the first time in booth No. 3544 at the Networld + Interop tradeshow in Atlanta the week of September 25th.

About Atheros Communications

Atheros Communications was founded in May 1998 by leading experts in RF and signal processing from Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley, and private industry. Its founding mission is to provide wireless networking technologies that drive transparent connections among all computing, audio and video devices in the office and the home. Funded by venture capital firms August Capital, Foundation Capital and New Enterprise Associates, Atheros currently employs over 75 people and has filed more than 20 wireless technology patents. For more information, visit www.atheros.com, call 408/773-5200 or send email to [e-mail].

What Analysts Are Saying About Atheros Communications

"Wow! Atheros has done something that I didn't think we'd see for at least another two years. This is one of the most exciting announcements in my ten years in wireless." - Craig J. Mathias, Principal, Farpoint Group

"This is really very impressive, especially since it is all done in standard digital CMOS and not the new mixed-signal or RF CMOS which is more expensive and less robust. The new IEEE802.11a standard is something to watch closely." - Allen Nogee, Senior Analyst, Wireless Technology Group, Cahners In-Stat

"The 5-GHz band lacks many of the obstacles which have plagued the 2.4-GHz spectrum. It has a broad FCC spectrum allocation and no conflicting protocols. This will make 5-GHz technology the best choice for implementing next generation wireless LANs and Atheros' technology will get us there much faster." -Patrick Paczkowski, Analyst, Current Analysis

"Atheros has taken a new approach to putting a radio on a chip, by looking at it from the top down not the bottom up. By approaching the issue from the system level, rather than the component level, they've made the radio fast, simple and affordable. And all in CMOS, no less!" -Will Strauss, President, Forward Concepts

"Two-year-old Atheros Communications of Sunnyvale, CA is gearing up to turn the wireless local area network community on its head. The company has a vision of providing the means to bring high-speed wireless connectivity within reach of all office information workers and the typical home user as well. With their impressive line-up of engineers and management talent, Atheros has an excellent chance of achieving their goal. The company's impending release of a low cost chipset for 5-GHz WLAN's is expected to significantly lower the cost structure of high-speed WLAN equipment and make the technology ubiquitous for office and home users around the world.

Atheros designs call for the manufacture of single sided PC Card adapters that will result in the elimination of 50 percent of components found in WLAN equipment today. The result of this technological breakthrough, according to Atheros, will be 5-GHz WLAN's that use as little as one-sixth the energy of 2.4-GHz systems with up to 6.5 times the speed and at price points similar to that of 2.4-GHz equipment prices seen today. Provided this technology is everything it is touted to be, affordable wireless computing in the home and office is one step closer to becoming a reality for all of us." - Jarad Carleton, Research Analyst, Information Technologies, Frost & Sullivan

(c)2000 Atheros Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. ATHEROS(TM)and the Atheros logo are trademarks of Atheros Communications, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.