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Atheros
Joins WiMAX Forum
Leader in OFDM Technology
Enables Innovative Outdoor Wireless Products and Applications
SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 10, 2003—Atheros Communications today
announced that it has joined the World Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)
Forum, a non-profit corporation that was formed in January 2003 to help promote
the IEEE 802.16a standard and certify the compatibility and interoperability of
broadband wireless access equipment.
The Company is working with
several key WiMAX members that are developing broadband wireless access (BWA)
products using Atheros technology. Commercial wireless broadband solutions based
on Atheros technology have already demonstrated outstanding performance over
long distances. In an outdoor wireless trial, Atheros technology delivered a 36
Mbps link rate over a distance of greater than 16 kilometers.
A major component of the recently
amended IEEE 802.16a technical standard is Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing (OFDM). Atheros is the leading provider of OFDM technology, having
pioneered 802.11a, 802.11g and 802.11a/b/g chipsets for wireless LANs. The
Company is now leveraging its OFDM expertise to deliver the industry’s best
range and throughput for a host of emerging, last-mile wireless broadband
products.
“Atheros is enabling the
best wireless connectivity in any environment,” said Craig Barratt, president
and chief executive officer of Atheros. “We are very pleased to be working with
many of the leading outdoor wireless systems providers. Their decision to employ
Atheros technology validates our OFDM platform as the best solution for outdoor
as well as indoor wireless applications.”
“As the leading BWA
systems vendor to business-grade service providers, Aperto Networks welcomes
Atheros to WiMAX,” stated Dr. Reza Ahy, Aperto chief executive officer and
founder. “Atheros’ strength in high-performance IEEE 802.11 networks positions
the company well to leverage their technology to address IEEE 802.16a and
increases the Forum’s expertise in PHY layer technology. We anticipate Atheros
will play a key role in accelerating standards compliance, cross-vendor
interoperability and cost effectiveness in the OFDM PHY layer of BWA network
solutions.”
As a WiMAX principal
member, Atheros has full voting rights and will immediately be able to make
contributions to the marketing and technical groups of the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 technical standard. Atheros
supports WiMAX efforts for 802.16a product certification and interoperability
testing.
Other industry-based organizations
that Atheros is a member of and regularly contributes to include the Wi-Fi
Alliance, joined in May 2000, and the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA),
joined in April 2002.
About
WiMAX
The WiMAX (World Interoperability for Microwave Access) Forum is a nonprofit
corporation formed to help promote and certify the compatibility and
interoperability of broadband wireless access devices. Established in April
2002, the group’s founding members include Airspan Networks, Alvarion Ltd.,
Aperto Networks, Ensemble Communications Inc., Fujitsu Microelectronics America,
Intel Corporation, Nokia, OFDM Forum, Proxim Corporation, and Wi-LAN Inc. The
group is helping to accelerate the introduction of wireless broadband equipment
that adheres to the IEEE 802.16 technical standard, speeding up worldwide
deployment of last-mile broadband wireless networks. The 802.16 standard, which
the IEEE modified this January in its 802.16a amendment covering the 2GHz to
11GHz frequencies, is a wireless metropolitan area network (MAN) technology that
will connect 802.11 hot spots to the Internet and serve as a wireless extension
to cable and DSL for last-mile broadband access.
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.
# # #
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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