Atheros Single-Chip Technology for PCI Express WLANs Debuts in Lighter, Faster, Feature-Rich Notebooks

Atheros PCI Express Chips Enhance Performance and Mobility of  Lenovo’s New ThinkPad™ Z60

SANTA CLARA, Calif., October 17, 2005 – Atheros Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHR), a leading developer of advanced wireless solutions, today announced that Lenovo has introduced the first notebooks with PCI Express™ architecture that supports wireless LAN (WLAN) functionality. Introduced in April, the new Atheros 802.11a/g AR5006EX and 802.11g AR5006EG, are the world’s first complete single-chip WLAN solutions to support the PCI Express interface.

Lenovo, the world’s third-largest personal computing company, includes the Atheros 802.11a/g PCI Express chips in its new ThinkPad™ Z60. The new notebook is targeted at small business customers. The advanced features of PCI Express enable manufacturers such as Lenovo to build smaller, lighter notebooks that are more feature-rich and robust.

 “PCI Express is a major advance in I/O performance, form factor, and scalability,” said Craig J. Mathias, a Principal with the wireless and mobile advisory firm, Farpoint Group (Ashland, MA). “With its single-chip solution, Atheros has again taken the lead in bringing the benefits of advanced technologies to both the manufacturers and users of wireless LANs.”

The PCI Express single-chip solutions from Atheros integrate a media access controller (MAC), baseband processor and a high-performance 2.4/5 GHz radio or 2.4 GHz radio in a low-cost, digital CMOS design that fits onto a single-sided Mini Card or ExpressCard. These compact form factors utilize the PCI Express bus architecture to support high-performance computing with up to 2.5 gigabits-per-second (Gbps) transmit and receive rates – a 150 percent improvement over previous PCI interfaces.

In addition, both chips support IEEE 802.11i and 802.11e Quality of Service (QoS) specifications, and feature a built-in Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm. These features in Atheros’ solutions enable users to securely transmit high-bandwidth data, voice, and video content wirelessly between devices, without experiencing performance degradation or latency.

“Atheros is the first and only company to deliver a single-chip PCI Express solution, in keeping with our track record of continued innovation and drive toward high-performance, cost-effective wireless LAN chip integration,” said Todd Antes, vice president of marketing of Atheros. “We congratulate Lenovo for bringing to market notebooks supporting this advanced wireless technology. Small business end-users will benefit from these lighter and faster devices that deliver a richer mobile computing experience.”

The AR5006EX and AR5006EG chips are representative of Atheros’ many firsts in WLAN technology. The company has led the industry with the world’s most highly integrated wireless technologies including single-chip solutions for 802.11g and 802.11a/g clients, 802.11g access points, 802.11g and 802.11a/g embedded and mobile devices, and PHS (Personal Handyphone System) handsets.

About Atheros Communications, Inc.

Atheros Communications is a leading developer of semiconductor system solutions for wireless communications products. Atheros combines its wireless systems expertise with high-performance radio frequency (RF), mixed signal and digital semiconductor design skills to provide highly integrated chipsets that are manufacturable on low-cost, standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processes. Atheros technology is being used by a broad base of leading customers, including personal computer and networking equipment manufacturers. For more information, visit www.atheros.com or send email to info@atheros.com.

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Atheros and the Atheros logo are trademarks of Atheros Communications, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the sole property of their respective owners.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements regarding the features, performance and benefits of Atheros’ AR5006EX and AR5006EG single-chip solutions, and the future integration of these products into Lenovo’s products, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited to, difficulties in development and manufacture of new products and upgraded products; unforeseen problems in the performance of the AR5006EX and AR5006EG chips upon volume production and broad deployment of these products; the impact of competition; whether Lenovo is successful in marketing its ThinkPad Z60 notebooks and whether Lenovo continues to incorporate Atheros’ products in its notebooks; and other risks detailed in Atheros’ Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2005 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in other reports filed with the SEC by Atheros from time to time. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Atheros disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.