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Atheros Supports ITU's
International Agreement to Open 5GHz Spectrum Globally for Wireless LANs
ITU World Radio Conference Allocates Additional 455 MHz
of Spectrum for WLAN use, Including 355 MHz for Mixed Outdoor/Indoor Use
SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 1, 2003—Atheros
Communications, the leading developer of advanced wireless LAN (WLAN) chipsets,
today announced its endorsement of an agreement reached by the U.S., European
and other delegations at the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU)
World Radio Conference (WRC) to allocate 455 MHz of unlicensed spectrum in the
5-GHz band for global WLAN use. Once the agreement achieves final plenary
approval, 100 MHz of spectrum (5.150 – 5.250 GHz) will be allocated for indoor
WLAN use, while an additional 355 MHz will be allocated for mixed indoor/outdoor
use (5.250 – 5.350 GHz and 5.470 – 5.725 GHz). The international agreement at
the WRC effectively opens at least 19 non-interfering 5GHz channels for global
WLAN use. The FCC has already begun to enact the agreement, which will result in
a total of 24 non-interfering 5GHz channels in the U.S., and most member nations
of the European Community have already opened 19 non-interfering 5GHz channels
for WLAN use.
“The agreement in Geneva is a defining moment for the WLAN
industry as a whole,” said Craig Barratt, president and chief executive officer
of Atheros. “The decision means that the universal 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g
networks that Atheros supports will offer access to nine times as many
non-overlapping channels as 802.11b and 802.11g-only networks in the U.S., and
seven times as many non-overlapping channels in Europe. This generous portion of
additional spectrum, negotiated among WLAN industry players including Atheros
and various governments, ensures the future scalability of wireless LAN
technology for current and future solutions. The Global Allocation in Geneva
will provide adequate spectrum for high capacity public & private wireless
networks free of interference problems that limit the use of available bands.”
The international agreement this month at the WRC follows a
February agreement among various agencies of the U.S. government and
telecommunications industry, including the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC),
NASA and the Department of Defense to allocate 255 MHz of additional spectrum in
the U.S. for wireless LAN use under coexistence rules which protect existing
government users of the 5GHz bands. Atheros' market-leading multi-mode and
802.11a WLAN chipsets already operate in the portions of the 5GHz band newly
allocated for wireless LAN use by the WRC. WLAN devices based on Atheros’
chipsets are being sold in all19 European Union countries and throughout the
world.
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 including 3Com, Accton, Actiontec, Acrowave
Systems, AIRAYA, Airespace, AirVast Technology, ALPS, Ambit, Aruba Wireless
Networks, Askey, ASUS, Avaya, BenQ, Chantry Networks, Contec, CyberTAN, Dacom,
Delta Networks, D-Link, Gemtek, Gigabyte Technology, Global Sun Tech, HP, IBM,
ICOM, Intel, Intermec, I-O Data, Linksys, NEC, NETGEAR, Nortel, Philips, Proxim,
Samsung, Senao, SMC Networks, Sony, Symbol Technologies, TDK, TECOM, Toshiba,
Trapeze Networks, USI, W2 Networks, Wistron NeWeb, Z-Com and others. For more
information, visit
www.atheros.com or send email to
info@atheros.com.
# # #
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.
Cheryl Patstone, 408-773-5344, cheryl@atheros.com
or Greg Wood, A&R Partners, 650-762-2838, gwood@arpartners.com.
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