Atheros Communications to Provide Tri-Mode WLAN Technology To HP

Combined Expertise Extends Wireless Networking Capabilities for HP's Enterprise Mobile Customers

SUNNYVALE, Calif., January 29, 2003 - Atheros Communications today announced it will team with HP to offer advanced wireless LAN (WLAN) solutions to the rapidly growing mobile computing market. The first outcome of this collaboration is expected to be HP notebook computers targeted at large enterprise customer segments, featuring built-in dual-band IEEE802.11a/b and single-band 802.11b WLAN connectivity. The notebooks will integrate Atheros’ tri-mode (802.11a/b/g) technology, designed in compliance with the draft 802.11g specification. This solution maximizes investment protection by enabling a seamless technology transition through a simple software update.

“As the leading provider of 802.11a and dual-band WLAN technology, Atheros is the ideal partner to help HP deliver leading wireless LAN features to their enterprise notebook customers,” said Rich Redelfs, president and chief executive officer for Atheros. “We’re proud that HP will work with Atheros to add dual-band wireless LAN capabilities to their notebook line—enhancing products that have already proven highly successful in the mobile computing market.”

Integrating Atheros WLAN capabilities into the heart of notebook computers eases users’ access to the Wi-Fi wireless networks that are becoming vital for mobile customers. The 802.11b support provides important connectivity with the most widely deployed wireless networking standard in the world, while the 802.11a support allows users to take advantage of high-performance 54 Mbps data rates with higher overall throughput for more users. Upgradeability to include 802.11g will provide large enterprises with further flexibility to enable 54 Mbps performance in additional WLAN environments.

“Working with Atheros provides us highly integrated dual-band wireless technology as well as a solid path for delivering upgradeability to include 802.11g,” said Kevin Frost, vice president of worldwide notebook marketing, HP Personal Systems Group.  “Integrating tri-mode wireless LAN provides our customers with maximum flexibility and investment protection by helping ensure notebooks are able to stay connected in virtually any wireless LAN environment.”

The HP notebooks will feature built-in wireless connectivity based on the Atheros AR5001X technology. In addition to supporting the data rates specified by the IEEE 802.11a standard (up to 54 Mbps), the solution offers additional speeds up to 108 Mbps in Atheros Turbo Mode^TM, creating a true alternative to wireline networks.

A key aspect of the solution is the ability to provide flexibility and ease of use to end users by seamlessly and transparently supporting all major security and wireless standards via SmartSelect^TM technology. These standards include the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) for enterprise and government-grade security, 802.1x authentication, Cisco’s LEAP, Virtual Private Network (VPN) and 802.1q Virtual LAN (VLAN) support to segment multiple classes of users. The Atheros solution also includes hardware acceleration to execute encryption at full line speed.

The software provided by Atheros handles seamless roaming between 5GHz and 2.4GHz networks using a single common driver without requiring the user to make changes to configuration settings. HP enterprise customers will have the added flexibility to deploy a mix of single and dual band notebooks without sacrificing software commonality.

About Atheros Communications, Inc.

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 multi-mode wireless solutions 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. For more information, visit www.atheros.com or send email to info@atheros.com.

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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.