Science & Technology
Science and Technology
Science and Technology
Thu, April 2, 2009
Wed, April 1, 2009 Atheros: Atheros' Industry-Leading 802.11n Portfolio Delivers Performance Options, Flexibility for Advanced Cable Modems
WASHINGTON, D.C.--(Marketwire - April 1, 2009) - THE NCTA CABLE SHOW -- Atheros Communications, Inc. (
Ultimate Platform Flexibility for Faster Time-to-Market
The resulting platform from this joint effort between Atheros and TI's Cable business unit allows Multiple Service Operators (MSOs) and service providers to easily offer Wi-Fi connectivity on advanced cable modem gateways. With the platform's industry-leading flexibility, OEMs and ODMs can quickly bring to market new gateways that feature a variety of wireless performance levels while satisfying an array of price requirements. These performance options range from Atheros Align™ 1x1 solutions, based on the 802.11n single-stream specification, supporting up to 150 Mbps PHY rates for robust data networking, to Atheros' XSPAN® MIMO-based 2x2 solutions, delivering up to 300Mbps for more advanced triple-play services.
By providing a single, common software driver which supports the AR7020 embedded WLAN accelerator in combination with any of Atheros' 802.11n-based solutions, the company is offering cable modem manufacturers enhanced flexibility and ease of design. This allows manufacturers to seamlessly transition their platform designs, thus reducing product development time, as well as the high costs related to obtaining multiple test certifications.
When ported onto any of the TI Puma 5 chipsets, Atheros' software driver uniquely leverages the Puma 5 on-chip advanced packet processing capabilities to deliver a state-of-the-art platform that meets the demanding performance and feature requirements of the cable modem gateway market. The combination of TI and Atheros software into a single, integrated stack provides ODMs and OEMs with a robust, pre-validated solution, which supplies yet another advantage in accelerating product development and time-to-market.
Best-in-Class Host Offload Capability for Greater Performance
Atheros' AR7020 embedded WLAN accelerator features an innovative architecture integrating a 200MHz CPU and system memories, which eliminates the need for external SDRAM and flash modules. The AR7020's host offloading capability facilitates industry-leading performance by dramatically reducing the need for host processing support for WLAN operation. As a result, the uncompromised host processor delivers enhanced speeds to support higher bandwidth applications, enabling MSOs to offer a richer set of value-added services to end users, such as multiple, simultaneous HD channels and higher throughput for data traffic.
The Atheros AR7020 features PCI, MII, RMII, GMII, and RGMII interfaces, which enable the embedded WLAN accelerator to connect to a variety of broadband networking devices such as the TI Puma 5. The AR7020 also employs a PCIe interface allowing for easy connection to any of Atheros' 11n-based solutions. The various interface options make it possible for manufacturers to develop wireless home gateway platforms to serve the full range of customer premise equipment (CPE) market segments.
"TI's market-proven Puma 5 DOCSIS 3.0 architecture enables OEMs to develop advanced cable modem gateways that satisfy today's operators' design needs, while meeting the growing demand for next-generation multimedia services such as IPTV," said Adam Lapede, director of marketing, TI's digital connected home business. "Atheros' technology delivers a robust and balanced feature set, enabling OEMs to take advantage of a smart, low-cost and scalable DOCSIS 3.0 platform that supports operators' goals of expanding their service offering and driving revenue growth."
Smart Design Delivers Lowest RBOM Cost
The newly-enhanced Puma 5 cable modem platform paired with the AR7020 and any Atheros Align or XSPAN 11n solution, features the industry's highest chip and board integration to deliver market-leading RBOM efficiencies. With its expanded product portfolio, Atheros provides the complete solution set, including the company's 802.11n WLAN baseband, MAC, radios, embedded WLAN accelerator, and Ethernet switch, to enable cost-efficient, yet high-performance, wireless cable modem gateways. Atheros' superior silicon integration and expert design result in mature solutions that deliver substantially lower RBOM component count versus competitive solutions.
"Atheros WLAN technology is the ideal complement to TI's Puma 5 DOCSIS 3.0 cable solutions, enabling manufacturers to easily deliver tiered product lines of wireless cable modem gateways that bring triple-play and next-generation IP services to the digital home," said Ali Hariri, vice president of Broadband Carrier Networking, at Atheros. "Our joint design effort with TI's Cable business unit has resulted in a turnkey platform providing maximum flexibility and integration with fast time-to-market advantages for customers designing advanced wireless cable modems."
Atheros-enabled gateway platforms support the Linux® operating system and comply with industry standards WMM® (Wi-Fi Multimedia™) and Wi-Fi Protected Setup™ with Atheros' JumpStart for Wireless™, the company's simple network configuration software. All of Atheros' 802.11n solutions support the WPA2™ and 802.11i standards and are designed to ensure secure connectivity utilizing the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
Availability
Atheros AR7020 Embedded 11n WLAN Accelerators are sampling now in cost-effective 10 x 10mm 80-pin lead-free LQFPs (Lead-free Quad Flat Packages).
About Atheros Communications, Inc.
Atheros Communications is a global leader in innovative technologies for wireless and wired communications. 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 [ http://www.atheros.com ] or send email to [ info@atheros.com ].
Atheros, the Atheros logo, Align and XSPAN 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' and TI's products and the platform based on TI's Puma 5 family of products and Atheros' WLAN products, 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 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.
