Atheros First to Earn Microsoft Designed for Windows XP Certification for Universal 802.11a/b/g WLAN Solution

Support for Windows XP across all major 802.11 standards and Wi-Fi Protected Access enhances WLAN user experience

SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 10, 2003—Atheros Communications, the market share leader in multi-standard wireless LAN (WLAN) technology, today announced it has received Microsoft Designed for Windows XP Logo Program certification for its most recent Atheros 802.11a/b/g WLAN software release, which supports the final 802.11g specification (draft 8.2) and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). This release supports the company’s second-generation AR5001X+ and new AR5002X chipsets. Last week, Atheros announced the volume availability of its third-generation AR5002 product line featuring market-leading universal 802.11a/b/g and 802.11b/g chipsets that boost throughput and range, while decreasing power consumption and cost. For more details, please visit http://www.atheros.com/news/AR5002.html.

This certification indicates that the Atheros 802.11a/b/g WLAN solution has successfully met the rigorous Microsoft Corp. standards for compatibility with the Windows XP operating system. The Designed for Windows XP Logo designation indicates that customers can expect a good experience with products bearing that logo when used on a PC running Microsoft Windows XP. Atheros also received the Windows 2000 and Windows Millennium Edition certifications. With this software release, Atheros is the only company supporting 802.11a/b/g, 802.11b/g and WPA on Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0, Windows Millennium Edition, and Windows 98.

“We’re very pleased that our WLAN solutions have passed Microsoft’s compatibility tests,” said Craig Barratt, president and chief executive officer at Atheros. “The final approval of the 802.11g standard and the market’s acceptance of WPA are important WLAN milestones. Our certification will help to ensure that new wireless products based on universal 11a/b/g and 11b/g technology will be compatible with Windows operating systems.” 

Atheros’ 802.11a/b/g WLAN solution ensures compatibility with Windows XP, which provides a set of features that makes using 802.11a, 11b or 11g wireless networks easy for users. Windows XP wireless networking enhancements include Auto Configuration support, allowing a laptop with a wireless network card to automatically detect and connect to available wireless networks, plus support for WPA and IEEE 802.1x for enhanced wireless security. Wireless network card installation and roaming across networks has been greatly simplified. For example, users no longer have to manually change their network ID settings and re-login each time they want to move between 802.11a/b/g wireless LANs across the office, at home, or on the road.

The most advanced wireless networking chips available today

Atheros’ second and third-generation chipsets provide numerous improvements in performance and range, while reducing power consumption compared to competing products. Rather than relying exclusively on hefty battery-draining power amplifiers and low-noise amplifiers to improve range, Atheros has increased the radio chip’s receive sensitivity and multipath tolerance to unprecedented levels. With a given transmit power, the new chips offer far better range and throughput than products based on competitor’s less-efficient solutions.

The chipsets also implement Atheros Super G®  and Super AG®  capabilities, delivering 90 Mbps of actual end user TCP/IP throughput for 802.11a/b/g, 802.11b/g and 802.11a WLANs. These standards-based and fully interoperable capabilities include a new 108-Mbps data rate design for 802.11a and 802.11g, a real-time hardware data compression engine, standards-compliant bursting support, and dynamic transmit and modulation optimizations. Super G and Super A/G are backward compatible with conventional 802.11b, 11g and 11a products. The features support mixed-mode operation with Atheros and third-party solutions in the same network.

Atheros’ performance enhancements achieve more than 10 times the actual throughput of other wireless LAN solutions, are scalable to any number of users, and are compatible with legacy equipment. Competing solutions that offer special turbo or bursting modes are only effective under limited network conditions and adversely affect users of 802.11b or third-party 802.11g products.

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.

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For press and analyst inquiries contact: Cheryl Patstone, 408-773-5344, cheryl@atheros.com or Greg Wood, A&R Partners, 650-762-2838, gwood@arpartners.com.

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