Atheros Supports Expanding the Unlicensed Spectrum for Wireless LANs

New U.S. Government Position on 5-GHz Wireless Access Devices Calls for Increasing WLAN Capacity with Additional 255 MHz of Spectrum

SUNNYVALE, Calif., February 3, 2003 - Atheros Communications, the leading developer of advanced wireless LAN (WLAN) chipsets, today announced its endorsement of the recent decision by the U.S. government to support the allocation of 255 MHz of additional unlicensed spectrum (from 5.470 to 5.725 GHz), thus significantly increasing the spectrum bandwidth available for WLANs. The decision came as a result of a consensus agreement among various agencies of the U.S. government and industry leaders. Government agencies participating included the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), NASA and most importantly the Department of Defense (DoD), which had previously been resisting opening this spectrum for unlicensed use.

“The U.S. government’s decision shows that it fully supports the advancement of the wireless LAN market and recognizes the need to provide increased scalability for the future,” said Rich Redelfs, president and chief executive officer of Atheros. “Our work with the federal government on this issue has helped pave the way for better WLAN technology understanding between the government and private sector. The proposal would increase the available spectrum by nearly 80 percent for advanced WLANs in the 5-GHz band, providing 11 additional non-interfering channels domestically and creating a foundation for a worldwide band comprised of at least 19 channels.”

Key to the agreement was the acceptance by the wireless industry’s leaders of Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) threshold levels desired by the Department of Defense. DFS allows WLAN devices to listen for and avoid channels on which certain radar systems may operate.

The new position within the U.S. is expected to clear the way for an international agreement in June 2003 at the ITU World Radio Conference (WRC-03) in Geneva, Switzerland. An international agreement at WRC-03 based on the recently agreed parameters would free up to 455MHz of harmonized spectrum in the 5-GHz band globally.

Atheros' market-leading multi-mode and 802.11a WLAN chipsets already operate in this 255 MHz band, where allocated. These chipsets provide an upgradeable implementation for DFS and Transmit Power Control (TPC) support as currently required for WLAN operation in Europe. WLAN devices based on Atheros’ chipsets are being sold into 17 of 19 European Union countries (all but Greece and Spain), and throughout the world.

For more details about the NTIA agreement visit: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/2003/5gHzagreement.htm 

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 Accton, Actiontec, Acrowave Systems, AirVast Technology, ALPS, Ambit, Askey, ASUS, BenQ, Contec, CyberTAN, Delta Networks, D-Link, Gemtek, Gigabyte Technology, Global Sun Tech, HP, IBM, ICOM, Intel, Intermec, I-O Data, Linksys, NEC, NETGEAR, Philips, Proxim, Samsung, Senao, SMC Networks, Sony, Symbol, TDK, TECOM, USI, W2 Networks, Wistron NeWeb, Z-Com and others. 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.