Tokyo, Networld+Interop Show, June 7, 2001 -- TELEC, the official Japanese certification agency that tests and approves wireless technologies for the Japanese market, has approved Atheros' 5-GHz wireless LAN reference designs for both wireless LAN cards and access points. The Atheros reference designs, are the first IEEE 802.11a standard-based solutions to be approved by TELEC. The Atheros chipset will also comply with the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB), STD-T71 Japanese national standard. ARIB is the Japanese telecommunications standardization body.

The Atheros AR5000 chipset is compliant with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 5-GHz wireless LAN standard. It operates at speeds up to 54 megabits per second compliant with the standard and up to 72 megabits per second in Atheros' "Turbo" mode. Incorporating a complete "radio-on-a-chip" (RoC), the AR5000 is the world's first two-chip, all-CMOS, end-to-end solution for 802.11a 5-GHz wireless LANs.

"The approval of Atheros AR5000-based reference design products in Japan offers customers a certified next-generation technology for both the commercial business and home markets," said Dr.Tomoki Ohsawa, general manager of Atheros Communications KK. "Atheros' partners will be able to deliver solutions that are five times faster than existing wireless LAN technology to provide a significant advantage over current wireless technology at a comparable cost."

This groundbreaking technology opens the door to vast new possibilities, as high-speed, rich content wireless data becomes widely available in offices, homes, schools, and in public places such as airports, hotels and coffee shops. The chipset is recognized as the first-to-market commercially viable 802.11a wireless solution. Atheros, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, will ship the AR5000 chipset this summer.

"5-GHz 802.11a wireless solutions will be deployed worldwide sooner than people have been predicting," said Frank Howley, vice president of worldwide sales at Atheros. "In addition to supporting vastly faster speeds, the 5-GHz band has the important advantage of ensuring more reliable communications since signals will not have to compete with Bluetooth® , garage-door openers, microwave ovens, cordless phones and baby monitors."

About Atheros Communications, Inc.

Atheros Communications was founded in May 1998 by leading experts in radio and signal processing from Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley, and private industry. The Company's mission is to provide wireless networking technologies that drive transparent connections between all computing, communications, audio and video devices. Funded by August Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Foundation Capital, New Enterprise Associates and others, Atheros has raised a total of $98.3 million in three rounds of funding. The Company currently employs over 120 people and has filed more than 40 wireless technology patents.

For more information about TELEC: Telecom Engineering Center, see http://www.telec.or.jp/ENG/outline/Out_r02.htm.

For press and analyst inquiries contact: Thomas Mahon. 925.937.4921, tmahon@ncal.verio.com or Greg Wood, A&R Partners, 650.762.2838, gwood@arpartners.com.