Atheros, TI Team

NEW ORLEANS -- Atheros Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHR), a leading developer of advanced semiconductor system solutions for wireless and wired communications, announced that its high-performance XSPAN(r) 802.11n single and dual-band options, and its popular 802.11g solutions now support Texas Instruments' (TI) next-generation, wireless-enabled cable modem gateway platform. The new reference designs are the first in a series based on Atheros' Wi-Fi and TI's Puma 5 family of DOCSIS(r) 3.0 cable modem chipsets, which are optimized for triple play and next-generation IP services. The collaboration between Atheros and TI enables Multiple Service Operators (MSOs) or service providers to easily add Wi-Fi connectivity to cable modem gateways, eliminating the need for multiple boxes, and simplifying home and SOHO networks. MSOs can now choose among a wide array of Atheros high-performance Wi-Fi options to generate incremental revenue from subscribers enabled with wireless services.

Atheros WLAN together with TI's Puma 5 family offers a uniquely architected, state-of-the-art platform which meets the demanding performance and feature requirements of the cable modem gateway market. This complete solution provides OEMs with a full hardware development kit (HDK) and software development kit (SDK), enabling them to easily and quickly customize the fundamental design with value-added features and achieve significant time-to-market advantages. Additionally, the joint platform provides a single source to OEMs for design support on both cable modem and WLAN technologies.

Atheros' XSPAN system-on-chip solutions provide a rich set of features to the Puma 5 platform including an integrated, high-performance, wireless network processor (WNPU) 400 MHz subsystem, which gives significant offload capabilities to the cable modem's host CPU resulting in higher throughput. The XSPAN family features an innovative triple-radio MIMO design, which delivers industry-leading whole home coverage.

"Integrating Wi-Fi with DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems enabled by TI's Puma 5 family of products gives MSOs even more reach into the home network, allowing them to provide value-added features including remote configuration, assisted troubleshooting and more," said Ran Senderovitz, TI's cable business manager. "Building Atheros' WLAN technology on top of TI's Puma 5 packet processor-based DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem products gives our customers the flexibility to create differentiated gateway solutions to meet their market needs."

Atheros Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: ATHR)