PALO ALTO, Calif., May 9, 2000 - Atheros Communications, Inc., a leader in standards-based 5-GHz wireless
local-area-networking, has joined the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA). WECA is dedicated
to interoperability of wireless LAN products supporting the IEEE 802.11 standard, and Atheros has
joined the organization to lead the efforts on next generation interoperability.
"WECA and the Wi-Fi logo are recognized as the gold standards for interoperability of 11 Mbps wireless
LAN products operating at 2.4-GHz," stated Rich Redelfs, president and CEO of Atheros. "As wireless
LANs continue to gain momentum, it is increasingly important to stress the adoption of standards
into next generation, higher speed solutions as well. We look forward to working with WECA to drive
its vision for wireless LAN interoperability into the 5-GHz solutions space, operating at 54 Mbps and
beyond," added Redelfs.
WECA chairman Phil Bellanger stated, "The 5-GHz IEEE 802.11a technology-based products will be an
important part of the evolution of wireless LANs. WECA is pleased to have Atheros' commitment to
helping us prepare for interoperability testing for future generations of wireless LAN solutions."
In addition to supporting the existing IEEE 802.11aHR standards for 5-GHz wireless LANs, Atheros has
recently proposed extensions to the IEEE and ETSI HiperLAN II specifications which would allow for
multimedia support, higher-speeds and interoperability with low-speed, low-power devices under a single
5-GHz unified-protocol (5-UP™). It is Atheros' desire that WECA support interoperability testing
for the IEEE extensions after the extensions have become widely adopted standards.
Atheros is a new fabless semiconductor company dedicated to delivering the most cost-effective wireless
LAN technology for scalable communications, from low-speeds to those exceeding 100 Mbps in the 5-GHz
radio band. Atheros' vision is to enable the wireless future by providing transparent connectivity among
all computing, voice, audio, video and Internet access devices on an enterprise LAN, in the small office
or at home.
To achieve this vision of ubiquitous, interoperable wireless connectivity between many different classes
of devices, Atheros seeks to provide low-cost, high-bandwidth, low-power technology based on industry
standards. The Company is initially focused on developing chipsets based on the IEEE802.11a and
HiperLAN II standards, but is also proposing standards enhancements for the future. Atheros' proposed
enhancements will enable higher bandwidth, support multimedia, and allow interoperable scalability between
low-speed and high-speed devices.
Thomas Mahon, 925.937.4921, tmahon@ncal.verio.com
or Nicole E. Martin, 415.346.5656, nicole@atheros.com.
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