Atheros Debuts 802.11a/g + PCI Express Solution

Atheros Communications introduced a single-chip IEEE 802.11a/g (Atheros AR5006EX) and 802.11g (Atheros AR5006EG) WLAN solution with support for PCI Express. The chips integrate an entire WLAN solution-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.


Atheros said the solution enables the entire WLAN solution to fit on a single-sided mini card or ExpressCard design. This represents Atheros' sixth-generation wireless LAN solution.


Additionally, both chips support robust security standard with IEEE 802.11i. An AES encryption engine is built into the hardware of all Atheros 802.11a/g and 802.11g chipsets, allowing real-time encryption with no performance degradation in computing, consumer electronics and wireless broadband applications. Atheros' chipsets also support wireless multimedia and draft 802.11e QoS specifications.


Atheros is currently sampling the AR5006EX and AR5006EG to lead customers. Volume production is expected in Q3 2005.


http://www.atheros.com