BROADCOM ENTERS WIRELESS LAN SEMICONDUCTOR MARKET.Broadcom Corporation, a provider of integrated circuits Integrated circuits Miniature electronic circuits produced within and upon a single semiconductor crystal, usually silicon. Integrated circuits range in complexity from simple logic circuits and amplifiers, about 1/20 in. (1. enabling broadband communications, has introduced the industry's first all-CMOS, direct-conversion wireless local area networking (WLAN See wireless LAN. WLAN - wireless local area network ) chipset solutions. The new product family implements 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. 802.11b wireless networking See wireless network. standard (also known as Wi-Fi). Broadcom's unique architecture allows WLAN providers to add security and performance while dramatically lowering manufacturing costs. 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 semiconductors are found in products gaining momentum in enterprise, small business, home, and public access applications. According to market research firm Cahners In-Stat, the WLAN chipset market will grow from $319 million in 2001 to over $1 billion by 2004. "Broadcom's entrance into this burgeoning segment of the networking market is a major element of our vision to enable ubiquitous broadband connectivity," said Dr. Henry T. Nicholas, III, 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 Broadcom. "Our commitment to engineering excellence has yielded technology that we believe will catalyze the next growth phase of the wireless LAN industry." Innovation in Architecture and Product Features Broadcom's wireless LAN offerings, the Broadcom BCM BCM Baylor College of Medicine BCM Become BCM Business Communications Manager (Nortel) BCM Broadcom Corporation BCM Business Continuity Management BCM Business Contact Manager (Microsoft) 2051 2.4GHz direct-conversion radio and the BCM430x family of baseband processors, contain a number of industry-first innovations. These silicon solutions are the first IEEE 802.11b-compliant chipsets to be implemented in a standard digital CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. process, which represents the lowest possible silicon cost approach to wireless radio and enables new product price points via chipset integration. Broadcom's highly integrated, two-chip solutions also employ a direct-conversion radio architecture that minimizes cost, number of components and foot print while improving product reliability and manufacturability. The BCM43 0x baseband processors are optimized to significantly outperform existing solutions in the hostile multi-path signal environments often found in the enterprise and home. Enhanced Security The Medium Access Controller (MAC) designed into the Broadcom baseband processors provides hardware-based security that meets customer needs across all market segments. In addition to the 40-bit encryption specified by the IEEE 802.11 Wired Equivalent Privacy Wired Equivalent Privacy or Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP) is a scheme to secure IEEE 802.11 wireless networks. It is part of the IEEE 802.11 wireless networking standard. (WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) An IEEE standard security protocol for wireless 802.11 networks. Introduced in 1997, WEP was found to be very inadequate and was superseded by WPA, WPA2 and 802.11i. ) standard, the BCM430x family includes hardware support of the 128-bit extension of WEP, 802.1x, Temporal Key Initiation Protocol (TKIP See WPA. ) as well as the Advanced Encryption Standard (cryptography, algorithm) Advanced Encryption Standard - (AES) The NIST's replacement for the Data Encryption Standard (DES). The Rijndael /rayn-dahl/ symmetric block cipher, designed by Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmen, was chosen by a NIST contest to be AES. (AES) protocol planned for the forthcoming IEEE security specification (IEEE 802.11 TGi). Hardware support of encryption/decryption improves performance and significantly lowers host-CPU utilization in both client and access device configurations. "The BCM2051/BCM430x chipset family raises the bar for wireless LAN product features, performance and cost," said Jeff Abramowitz, Broadcom's senior director, wireless LAN marketing. "Moreover, Broadcom's integration capabilities enable us to enter the market with the industry's broadest range of multifunction products." The Product Family The BCM2051 is a direct-conversion CMOS IC. This single-chip radio combines with any BCM430x chip to deliver a complete IEEE 802.11b solution. The BCM430x family of Wi-Fi baseband processors includes the BCM4301, with combined wireless LAN baseband processor and MAC functionality, the BCM4302, which adds simultaneous V.92 modem functionality, the BCM4304, which adds simultaneous 10/100 Ethernet functionality, and the BCM4307 which adds both V.92 modem and 10/100 Ethernet functionality. Samples of the BCM430x family and the BCM2051 as well as the related BCM9430x evaluation platforms are currently shipping to Broadcom's early access partners. About Broadcom Broadcom Corporation is a provider of highly integrated silicon solutions that enable broadband communications and networking of voice, video and data services. Using proprietary technologies and advanced design methodologies, Broadcom designs, develops and supplies complete system-on-a-chip solutions and related applications for digital cable set-top boxes and cable modems, high-speed local, metropolitan and wide area and optical networks, home networking, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), carrier access, residential broadband gateways, direct broadcast satellite and terrestrial digital broadcast, digital subscriber lines (xDSL), wireless communications, SystemI/O server solutions and network processing. Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif.. Broadcom can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.broadcom.com/ . For more information, call 949/450-8700. |
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