ED NOTE: May 8-10, 2001 at Networld+Interop in Las Vegas, Atheros will have technology demonstrations along with partner
participation in the ENT Zone booth #8231.
SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 30, 2001--A new Premier Partners program from Atheros Communications allows key industry leaders to join with Atheros
to develop, build and market the next generation of wireless local area
network (LAN) systems. These systems, based on the IEEE 802.11a standard
and using the company's unique "Radio-on-a-Chip" (RoC) networking
technology, will deliver the highest-speed, most cost-effective, most
power-efficient wireless LAN products in the industry.
Charter companies of the Premier Partners program, including Card
Access, Intermec, Proxim and TDK, have early access to Atheros
technology to develop, build and market their own unique wireless
solutions. These leading systems, networking and consumer electronics
companies--some of the best innovators and thought leaders in wireless
networking--are working directly with Atheros to develop the technologies
of the wireless future. Moving forward, Atheros will continue to add key
partners to the program.
"Our Premier Partners program provides an environment where creativity
and innovation can flourish, giving these forward-looking companies a
unique opportunity to influence this new emerging market," said Rich
Redelfs, president and CEO of Atheros. "These companies are united in
their belief that 802.11a is the answer to both today's market demands
and tomorrow's even more challenging requirements."
Atheros and its partners are dedicated to making possible transparent
connectivity between all computing, communications, video and audio
devices in the office, in the home, and in public places such as
airports and hotels. To achieve this goal, Atheros developed its fast,
highly integrated, low-cost AR5000 chipset, which represents a
significant breakthrough over slower, more complex existing products.
The Atheros AR5000 chipset is the world's first two-chip, all-CMOS,
end-to-end solution for IEEE 802.11a, 5GHz wireless LANs. The AR5000
chipset supports the IEEE 802.11a maximum data rate of 54Mbps, and can
also provide speeds up to 72Mbps in Atheros' turbo mode. Volume shipment
of the Atheros AR5000 chipset is on target for this summer.
"The appetite for access and distribution of information and
entertainment content continues to grow at amazing speeds. Implementing
the latest wireless technologies from Atheros into our next generation
of communications products will help redefine how people connect,
communicate and enjoy their entertainment," said Kent Hansen, vice
president of Business Development, Card Access Inc.
"With early access to Atheros' 802.11a, 5GHz wireless technologies,
Intermec will be able to address the growing enterprise-wide wireless
networking demands of our Fortune 1000 customers in industrial,
logistics and retail markets, and also provide a wireless-only solution
for small office/home office environments," said Greg Smith, vice
president and general manager, Wireless Products Group, Intermec
Technologies Corp.
"Proxim is pleased to partner with Atheros to deliver reliable,
higher-speed wireless networking to the enterprise," said Kurt Bauer,
vice president and general manager, Proxim, Inc. "Proxim is committed to
protecting enterprises' investment in wireless networking. With Proxim's
multi-standard Harmony solution, enterprises can deploy wireless today
and seamlessly migrate to 802.11a tomorrow."
"Just as TDK took the lead in developing Ethernet NICs based on the
CardBus standard, which enabled higher data rates at lower power than
traditional PC Cards, TDK 5GHz wireless solutions based on the IEEE
802.11a standard and Atheros Communications technology will set a new,
higher standard for client wireless connectivity," said Haruki
Tsunekawa, general manager, TDK Systems Division.
On April 23, 2001, Atheros announced the close of its third round of
financing in the amount of $66.7 million, with Fidelity Management &
Research Company as the lead investor. 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.
Thomas Mahon, 925.937.4921, tmahon@ncal.verio.com
or Jonathan Bass, A&R Partners, 650.762.2822, jbass@arpartners.com.
Founded in 1995, Card Access Inc. has an extensive background in the
mobile communications arena including PC Card, Mini PCI and custom form
factor designs. Card Access researches, develops, tests and manufactures
a variety of communications devices. Concentrating in the client and
embedded communications market segment, Card Access focuses on providing
innovative, small, low-power communications designs for operating
system-independent applications. Visit www.cardaccess-inc.com for more
information. Kent Hansen, 1-801-292-2909, ext. 12,
khansen@cardaccess-inc.com.
Intermec Technologies Corp., a UNOVA Inc. (NYSE:UNA) company, is a
leader in global supply chain solutions and in the development,
manufacture and integration of MobileLAN(TM) wireless and wired systems,
automated data collection, Intellitag(R) RFID (radio frequency
identification) and mobile computing systems. Companies in many
industries use Intermec products to improve productivity, quality and
responsiveness of business operations, from supply chain management and
enterprise resource planning to field sales and service.
For more information, visit www.intermec.com and
www.unova.com. Noel
Hawke, 1-425-356-1675, noel.hawke@intermec.com.
Proxim, Inc. (Nasdaq:PROX), the pioneer in wireless broadband
networking, has over 15 years of experience designing and building
wirefree broadband networking solutions for the enterprise, service
provider and home markets. The Harmony(TM) product family provides
long-term investment protection for enterprises through the industry's
first multi-standard architecture designed to work with any wirefree
technology. Harmony also offers a broad range of design-in modules for
OEMs. The Stratum(TM) product family offers a range of broadband access
solutions and building-to-building networking connectivity for
enterprises and service providers. The Symphony(TM) product family offers
easy-to-use, inexpensive wirefree networking for homes, small offices
and classrooms; while the Farallon(TM) products extend these networking
choices with a range of Ethernet, HPNA and wirefree solutions for both
Mac and PC users. Proxim is a member of the Wireless Ethernet
Compatibility Alliance and a promoter of the Home Radio Frequency
Working Group along with Compaq, Intel, Siemens, Motorola, National
Semiconductor and other leaders in the wireless market. The company is
headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with offices globally.
Visit www.proxim.com for more information.
Debbie Abbott, director of
Corporate Communications, 1-408-731-2790, dabbott@proxim.com.
TDK Corporation (NYSE:TDK) is a leading global electronics company based
in Japan. It was established in 1935 to commercialize ferrite, a key
material in electronics and magnetics. TDK's current product line
includes ferrite materials, electronic components and ICs, wireless
computer networking products, magnetic heads for HDD, digital recording
hardware and advanced digital recording media. Net sales in FY2000 were
US$6.3 billion. For more information about TDK, visit www.tdk.com.
Javier Espinoza, hespinoza@tdktca.com, 1-408-467-5230.
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 140 people and has filed more
than 45 wireless technology patents.
Cheryl Patstone, Atheros Communications, 408-773-5344, cheryl@atheros.com
or Greg Wood, A&R Partners, 650-762-2838, gwood@arpartners.com.
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