Integrated solution takes full advantage of new frequency bands for nomadic and fixed wireless access

TOKYO, JAPAN, June 27, 2002 -- Atheros Communications, Inc. today introduced a chipset that brings advanced wireless data capabilities to a wide range of frequency bands now being opened for wireless access in Japan. The multi-band multi-protocol AR5001J chipset supports fixed wireless applications and nomadic services, such as "hot spots," in the new 4.900-5.090 GHz licensed bands.  The AR5001J is the first chipset to support these new frequency bands.  The chipset also supports wireless LAN applications in the 2.400-2.497 GHz and 5.150-5.250 GHz unlicensed bands.

“These new chips offer enormous versatility for wireless data access,” said Rich Redelfs, president and chief executive officer of Atheros. “For example, people can connect to an IEEE802.11a or 802.11b wireless LAN at work, a fixed wireless system at home, and nomadic wireless systems in public places—all on different wireless frequencies but all with products based on the same Atheros chipset.”

The new frequencies fall into two bands between 4.900 to 5.090 GHz and cover both indoor and outdoor applications. The Atheros AR5001J chipset brings high-bandwidth data transfer capability to all of these bands by applying Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). This technology makes highly efficient use of the available spectrum to support multiple wireless channels with data rates as high as 54 Mbps. The Atheros chipset supports 20 MHz-wide 802.11a channels as well as 10 MHz and 5 MHz channels for nomadic and fixed wireless access in accordance with the spectrum regulations.

Seamless Roaming with Multi-band, Multi-protocol Support

The AR5001J chipset features Atheros’ second-generation 802.11a technology as well as support for the legacy 802.11b standard and the draft 802.11g standard. It uses standard CMOS technology to create highly integrated system-level solutions with the lowest cost and the best performance. In supporting applications in these new frequency bands, Atheros has demonstrated the company’s continued leadership in wireless OFDM technology.

In addition to high performance and reliability, the chipset provides a comprehensive security suite based on the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), the state-of-the-art encryption scheme replacing 3DES as the "gold standard" for banking and other high-security environments. The Atheros chipset also include WEP/TKIP encryption for backward compatibility with older systems, 802.1x authentication, and support for virtual private networks (VPNs) and virtual LANs (VLANs).  The built-in VLAN support enables efficient public hot spot services by allowing multiple service providers to operate simultaneously over the same equipment.

The chipset’s quality-of-service (QoS) features assure real-time delivery of audio, video, and voice in accordance with emerging IEEE standards for supporting multimedia applications. At the same time, the chipset’s architecture maximizes battery life for mobile applications.

Product Price and Availability

The Atheros AR5001J chipset is sampling now and will be shipping in volume upon regulatory approval.  The chipset is priced at under US$39 for OEM quantities.  Atheros will also be delivering 802.11a-only client and access point chipsets supporting the new 4.9-GHz bands.

About Atheros Communications

Atheros Communications is the leading developer of networking technologies for secure, high-performance wireless local area networks. As the industry innovator and market-share leader in wireless OFDM technology compliant with the IEEE 802.11 specifications, Atheros is driving transparent connections among electronic devices in the office, home and on the road. Atheros technology is being used by many of the world's leading wireless equipment manufacturers including Accton, Actiontec, Agere, ALPS Electric, Askey, CONTEC, D-Link, Gemtek, Intel, Intermec, I∙O Data, Linksys, Melco, Netgear, Philips, Proxim, Samsung, Senao, SMC Networks, Sony, Symbol, TDK, Wistron NeWeb, Z-Com and others. For more information, visit www.atheros.com or send email to info@atheros.com.

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Atheros and the Atheros logo are registered trademarks of Atheros Communications, Inc.  All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.

For press and analyst inquiries contact: Cheryl Patstone, 408-773-5344, cheryl@atheros.com or Greg Wood, A&R Partners, 650-762-2838, gwood@arpartners.com.