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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
Atheros Launches Industry's Most-Integrated 802.11g Solution for Carrier Gateways
SANTA CLARA, Calif., -- Atheros
Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATHR), a leading developer of advanced
wireless solutions, today announced Atheros' AR2417 chip, the industry's
most highly- integrated, cost-effective 802.11g solution for home gateways.
The compact, single-chip solution is the newest member of the company's
seventh-generation AR5007 family. With the AR2417, Atheros has enhanced its
most popular selling solution ever, the AR5005G, through significantly
increased integration while delivering Atheros-class wireless LAN (WLAN)
performance the company's customers have come to expect. Through its
industry-leading integration, the low cost, single-chip solution for
mini-PCI and cardbus designs significantly reduces the rest of
bill-of-materials (RBOM) by 30-45 percent compared to competitive
solutions.
While Atheros' XSPAN(TM) draft 802.11n solutions are leading the
technical innovation curve, the company is also investing in solutions that
meet the continuing consumer demand for 802.11g wireless technologies
pervasive in mainstream PCs and routers, and that are increasing in DSL
gateways. Today, home gateway solutions based on 802.11g technology provide
ample performance for basic data networking and web surfing, while the
significantly greater throughput enabled by 802.11n networks is required to
deliver triple-play services - data, video and voice - throughout the home.
From a volume perspective, IDC projects that 802.11g will account for more
than 60 percent of total WLAN units through 2008 (1). Atheros expects the
AR2417, a simple, low-cost Wi-Fi add-on to existing DSL and xDSL gateway
products, to advance the adoption of its low-cost WLAN in home deployments.
Like its predecessor, the highly successful AR5005G, which has achieved
more than $100 million in shipments since its introduction, the new AR2417
integrates the media access controller, baseband processor and 2.4GHz radio
onto the single-chip design. In addition, the AR2417 now delivers greater
value by integrating the low noise amplifier (LNA) and power amplifier (PA)
onto the low cost, digital CMOS system-on-chip.
The AR2417 offers the added benefit of its innovative 2-layer mini-PCI
design, the industry's smallest form factor at half the height of existing
solutions. The new, compact size reduces the printed circuit board (PCB)
cost by 50 percent and RBOM component count by more than 40 percent over
the previous generation's 4-layer design. As a result of these
enhancements, Atheros enables easy, low-cost implementation of Wi-Fi
technology in existing DSL and xDSL residential gateway designs.
"More than half of all Wi-Fi products shipped worldwide are based on
802.11g, and we expect this trend to continue for the next few years. The
AR2417 improves on our previous, incredibly popular 802.11g PCI solution to
satisfy the demand for simple, low-cost, wireless data networking in the
home," said Michael Stauffer, director of marketing for the carrier
business with Atheros. "With the AR2417, we are delivering the ideal,
turnkey 802.11g solution to our DSL customers to provide the easiest route
to low-cost Wi-Fi in home gateways."
The AR2417 includes two development kits, which provide simple upgrade
paths from previous Atheros 802.11g PCI platforms. The first kit includes a
2- layer, half-height mini-PCI design for WLAN gateway applications. The
second kit includes a 2-layer, single-sided cardbus for aftermarket
wireless PC cards. The AR2417 provides support for Windows XP, 2000 and
Vista for cardbus clients and Linux for APs. The solution offers advanced
security that supports WPA/WPA2 Personal security, EAP 802.1x
authentication and an AES encryption engine. The design also features
JumpStart for Wireless(TM) compatible with the Wi-Fi Protected Setup(TM)
standard for simple network configuration. Like all Atheros WLAN solutions,
the AR2417 also supports the 802.11e Quality of Service standard.
Product Availability
The AR2417 chip is currently in volume production and shipping to
leading retail and carrier customers. For more information, please visit:
http://www.atheros.com/pt/AR5007G.htm.
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, networking equipment and handset manufacturers. For more
information, visit http://www.atheros.com or send email to info@atheros.com
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