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Atheros
XSPAN Enhances Home Networking with Smart, High-Capacity
Routing Platform
Industry-Leading 802.11n Technology Brings Cost and
Design Efficiencies of the World’s First Shipping
Single-Chip 11n to Dual-Radio Routers
COMPUTEX,
TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 2, 2008 — Atheros
Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHR), a leading developer
of advanced semiconductor system solutions for wireless
and wired communications, today announced the XSPAN®
AR9002AP, the industry’s first single-board, dual-radio
router platform featuring single-chip 802.11n
technology. The AR9002AP platform provides up to 600
Mbps of wireless networking capacity to support the
growing number of devices on the home
network—simultaneously. It features the highest level of
chip and system integration to significantly lower the
cost of dual-concurrent routers and provides access to
the complete Wi-Fi spectrum. Atheros will demonstrate
its new XSPAN platform at COMPUTEX in Taipei, Taiwan,
June 3-7, 2008, in its Technology Suite (#2407/2408) at
the Grand Hyatt Taipei.
The AR9002AP platform leverages the
efficiencies of single-chip 11n technologies to
significantly reduce the cost of dual-radio networking
products. It features the AR9220 and AR9223 11n
single-chip radio/MAC/BB designs to support the 5 and
2.4 GHz bands, respectively. At the core of the AR9002AP
platform is Atheros’ AR7161 high-performance, 680MHz
wireless networking CPU—engineered to maximize 802.11n
performance. The platform also offers Atheros ETHOS®
AR8216 Fast Ethernet or AR8316 Gigabit Ethernet switch
options. The system has been integrated on a single,
compact circuit board that requires up to 50 percent
fewer components than competitive solutions on the
market.
Dual
Radios Leverage the Full WLAN Spectrum
The AR9002AP delivers on the
promise of 802.11n by efficiently distributing
bandwidth- hungry multimedia content while also
supporting data applications on the home network. This
capability is achieved through concurrent operation in
both the 2.4 and 5GHz bands, which each provide 300 Mbps
PHY rates. The combined bands also enable access to the
full spectrum of 27 non-overlapping WLAN channels.
With simultaneous operation in both
bands, the router can rely on the relatively
interference-free 5GHz band to support
latency-sensitive, high-bandwidth applications like HD
video streaming, while off-loading latency-tolerant data
transmissions such as email and Internet browsing to the
more interference-prone 2.4GHz band. This delegation of
applications also allows the 2.4GHz band to support
legacy 802.11g Wi-Fi devices, which can slow down 11n
networks, leaving the 5GHz band free to provide the
optimized 11n performance required for smooth media
transmissions.
XSPAN
Solutions Address the Growing Demand for Advanced Home
Networking
Today the home wireless network
supports an increasing number of devices, including
multiple PCs, set-top boxes and PVRs, Wi-Fi-enabled
gaming products, mobile handsets, PMPs and even wireless
cameras, picture frames and printers. This growing
demand requires that the home router offer universal
connectivity to any 802.11-enabled device and broad
networking capacity to support multiple users and
applications simultaneously. The AR9002AP readily
addresses these evolving WLAN requirements in a highly
cost-effective design.
“Dual-band 802.11n implementations
are essential to the future of wireless LAN,” said Craig
Mathias, a Principal with the wireless and mobile
advisory firm Farpoint Group. “Coming from the company
that pioneered 5GHz and dual-radio WLANs, the AR9002AP
capitalizes on Atheros’ long history and expertise in
building highly-integrated and complete system solutions
that are also remarkably cost-effective.”
“As the variety and number of
devices on the home network expand, it is important that
wireless LANs be future-proofed for high-capacity,
universal connectivity,” said Todd Antes, vice president
of wireless networking and computing for Atheros. “The
AR9002AP will enable a new generation of dual-radio
products which can efficiently multi-task, sharing
capacity for media content and data applications
throughout the home.”
Atheros
iQUE™ Delivers Networking Intelligence for a Quality
User Experience
The AR9002AP platform is the first
to offer iQUE™, Atheros’ new quality of service
technology suite designed to enhance wireless networking
in the home. iQUE intelligently manages and prioritizes
network traffic from the wide area network (WAN) and on
the WLAN to optimize the utilization of network
capacity. The enhanced throughput of typical 11n routers
offers only part of the solution, the effective
management of that capacity is required to ensure a
quality user experience.
On the WAN, Atheros iQUE technology
employs classification and prioritization algorithms,
which analyze packets transmitted or received over
broadband to optimize the flow of content in the home
network. On the WLAN, the AR9002AP utilizes several
advanced Quality-of-Service (QoS) techniques including
video transmission control algorithms and multicast-to-unicast
translation to ensure fluid delivery of video and other
digital content.
The AR9002AP platform complies with
industry standards 802.11e, WMM® (Wi-Fi Multimedia™) and
WMM PowerSave. It also features Atheros UAPSD (Universal
Advanced Power Save) technology, which enhances the
battery-life of mobile devices connected to the
AR9002AP-based routers.
Worldwide
Dynamic Frequency Selection Compliance
Atheros complies with all
government regulations for Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS)
as required by countries around the world. Atheros has
implemented state-of-regulatory DFS in all of its 5GHz
AP platforms, including the new AR9002AP solution. For
more details on DFS, please view the new technical
whitepaper, “New Worldwide Regulatory Requirements for
Wireless LANs” at
http://www.atheros.com/pt/tech_overview/DFS_app_note.pdf.
Availability
The AR9002AP solutions is currently
sampling to key customers.
About
Atheros Communications, Inc.
Atheros Communications is a leading
developer of semiconductor system solutions for wireless
and wired communications products. Atheros combines its
wireless and networking systems expertise with
high-performance radio frequency (RF), mixed signal and
digital semiconductor design skills to provide highly
integrated chipsets that are manufactured on low-cost,
standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)
processes. Atheros technology is used by a broad base of
leading customers, including personal computer,
networking equipment and consumer device manufacturers.
For more information, please visit
www.atheros.com or
send email to
info@atheros.com.
###
Atheros, the Atheros logo, XSPAN, ETHOS, and iQUE are
trademarks of Atheros Communications, Inc. All other
trademarks mentioned in this document are the sole
property of their respective owners.
Note on
Forward Looking Statements
Except
for the historical information contained herein, the
matters set forth in this press release, including the
features, benefits and performance of Atheros’ products,
and the anticipated growth in the variety and number of
devices connected to the home network, 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 the development of new and enhanced products, general
economic conditions, the effects of competition and
technological change, and the risks detailed in Atheros'
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
2007 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 31, 2008, 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.
Dakota Lee, 408-720-5597, dakota@atheros.com, or
Dan Muñoz, A&R Edelman for
Atheros, 650-762-2918,
dmunoz@ar-edelman.com
For
analyst inquires contact: Deborah Stapleton of Stapleton Communications, Inc.,
+1-650-470-0200,
deb@stapleton.com |
