Atheros Communications Joins Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance to Lead Next Generation Wireless LAN Interoperability.Business Editors and High-Tech Writers PALO ALTO Palo Alto, city, California Palo Alto (păl`ō ăl`tō), city (1990 pop. 55,900), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1894. Although primarily residential, Palo Alto has aerospace, electronics, and advanced research industries. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2000 Atheros Communications, Inc., a leader in standards-based 5-GHz wireless local-area-networking, has joined the Wireless Ethernet The standard for wireless networking within a home or office. Also known as a "Wi-Fi" or "802.11" network, wireless Ethernet is the wireless counterpart to regular, wired Ethernet, which is also the standard for local networks. See 802.11 and wireless LAN. Compatibility Alliance (WECA See Wi-Fi Alliance. ). WECA is dedicated to interoperability of wireless LAN A local area network that transmits over the air typically in the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz unlicensed frequency band. It does not require line of sight between sender and receiver. Wireless base stations (access points) are wired to an Ethernet network and transmit a radio frequency over an area products supporting the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, www.ieee.org) A membership organization that includes engineers, scientists and students in electronics and allied fields. 802.11 standard, and Atheros has joined the organization to lead the efforts on next generation interoperability. "WECA and the Wi-Fi(TM) logo are recognized as the gold standards for interoperability of 11 Mbps wireless LAN products operating at 2.4-GHz," stated Rich Redelfs, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Atheros. "As wireless LANs continue to gain momentum, it is increasingly important to stress the adoption of standards into next generation, higher speed solutions as well. We look forward to working with WECA to drive its vision for wireless LAN interoperability into the 5-GHz solutions space, operating at 54 Mbps and beyond," added Redelfs. WECA chairman Phil Bellanger stated, "The 5-GHz IEEE 802.11a technology-based products will be an important part of the evolution of wireless LANs. WECA is pleased to have Atheros' commitment to helping us prepare for interoperability testing for future generations of wireless LAN solutions." In addition to supporting the existing IEEE 802.11aHR standards for 5-GHz wireless LANs, Atheros has recently proposed extensions to the IEEE and ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute, Sophia Antipolis technical park, Nice, France, www.etsi.org) A non-profit membership organization founded in 1988, dedicated to standardizing information and communication technologies (ICT) throughout Europe. HiperLAN II specifications which would allow for multimedia support, higher-speeds and interoperability with low-speed, low-power devices under a single 5-GHz unified-protocol (5-UP(TM)). It is Atheros' desire that WECA support interoperability testing for the IEEE extensions after the extensions have become widely adopted standards. About Atheros Communications, Inc. Atheros is a new fabless semiconductor company A fabless semiconductor company specializes in the design and sale of hardware devices implemented on semiconductor chips. It achieves an advantage by outsourcing the fabrication of the devices to a specialized semiconductor manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry or "fab. dedicated to delivering the most cost-effective wireless LAN technology for scalable communications, from low-speeds to those exceeding 100 Mbps in the 5-GHz radio band. Atheros' vision is to enable the wireless future by providing transparent connectivity among all computing, voice, audio, video and Internet access devices on an enterprise LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. , in the small office or at home. To achieve this vision of ubiquitous, interoperable wireless connectivity between many different classes of devices, Atheros seeks to provide low-cost, high-bandwidth, low-power technology based on industry standards. The Company is initially focused on developing chipsets based on the IEEE802.11a and HiperLAN II standards, but is also proposing standards enhancements for the future. Atheros' proposed enhancements will enable higher bandwidth, support multimedia, and allow interoperable scalability between low-speed and high-speed devices. For more information on Atheros Communications, Inc., visit http://www.atheros.com/, call 1.650.494.7878, or mailto:info@atheros.com. Note to Editors: 5-UP and Atheros are trademarks of Atheros Communications, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders. |
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