Broadcom Toes the Cisco LineBroadcom Toes the Cisco Line

Broadcom WiFi solutions incorporate Cisco-compatible extensions technology for compatibility with Cisco Aironet wireless LAN infrastructure

March 22, 2004

4 Min Read

IRVINE, Calif. -- Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), the leading provider of semiconductor solutions enabling broadband communications, today announced that its 54g(TM) single and dual- band Wi-Fi(R) solutions are among the first products to be approved for Cisco Compatible Extensions V2. The Broadcom(R) 802.11a/g Mini PCI and 802.11g Mini PCI and Cardbus solutions will all bear the 'Cisco Compatible' brand, helping to ensure that notebook PCs and other wireless devices based on Broadcom's technology support advanced features that Cisco has incorporated into the Cisco Aironet(R) Series of Access Points and other wireless LAN infrastructure components.

The Cisco Compatible Extensions Program is a non-exclusive, no cost licensing arrangement designed to accelerate the adoption of standards such as Wi-Fi Protected Access(TM) (WPA) and help ensure tested interoperability with Cisco Aironet infrastructure. With Cisco Compatible Extensions V2, Cisco has augmented its wireless LAN extensions to support advanced security and authentication technologies, including Wi-Fi Protected Access and Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP). Cisco Compatible Extensions V2 features also enhance wireless intrusion detection, roaming performance and management of wireless LANs.

"Broadcom is a leading provider of wireless LAN silicon and is an important participant in the Cisco Compatible program," said Bill Rossi, vice president and general manager of Cisco's Wireless Networking Business Unit. "By supporting Cisco Compatible Extensions V2, Broadcom enables hardware partners to serve the enterprise market with 802.11g and 802.11a/g products that support the latest industry standards and Cisco innovations."

Broadcom has earned Cisco Compatible Extensions approval and has now integrated the complete set of Cisco Compatible Extensions V2 features into its OneDriver(TM) software, a common driver platform used for Broadcom client products. The latest software also supports a single Cisco LEAP login to eliminate the need for a user to enter login credentials twice, once for the wireless LAN and once for the overall network.

"Cisco Compatible Extensions V2 and Single LEAP Login are features that facilitate enterprise Wi-Fi deployment," said Tony Bonadero, director of wireless technologies for Dell. "Dell is excited to take advantage of Broadcom's timely software delivery to meet customer needs ahead of our competition."

Solutions that Offer Maximum Performance, Battery Life and Security

802.11g has become the mainstream Wi-Fi technology for business and consumer deployments but dual-band 802.11a/g products are expected to play an increasing role in large enterprise networks, as IT managers begin to use 802.11a to supplement the capacity of 802.11g infrastructure. Broadcom's unique OneDriver software enables a single software driver for single-band and dual-band solutions for both current and previous generation adapters. This allows network managers to effectively manage upgrade or migration of client platforms that connect to any wireless access point in a network, whether operating in the 2.4 GHz frequency range (802.11b/g) or the 5 GHz frequency range (802.11a).

"Broadcom's Wi-Fi solutions are ideally suited for enterprise client solutions," said Jeff Abramowitz, Senior Director of Marketing for Broadcom's Home and Wireless Networking Business Unit. "In addition to industry leading security software features, we provide for a single software image across technologies and product generations, and include AES in hardware, industry leading battery life and advanced Bluetooth coexistence. Broadcom supplies 54 Mbps solutions for more notebooks and wireless LAN products than any other chipmaker and enterprise customers can confidently select best-in-class products that offer the right combination of performance, security and other features."

In addition to comprehensive support for Cisco Compatible Extensions, Broadcom's dual-band solutions utilize hardware-based support for the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), and software support for Wi-Fi Protected Access and the forthcoming IEEE 802.11i specification. The company's latest solutions utilize the AirForce(TM) BCM4309-M chip, which complements today's low-power mobile processors by providing additional power savings. A typical Pentium-M(R) notebook equipped with a Broadcom 54g(TM) Mini-PCI card can last 20 minutes longer than the same notebook with a Centrino(TM) wireless LAN solution. In addition, Broadcom wireless clients feature InConcert(TM) technology, for the industry's best Bluetooth coexistence solutions, and Xpress(TM) Technology, a standards-based software enhancement that improves the efficiency of the entire wireless network with each node that is enabled with Xpress.

Broadcom's Wi-Fi Product Family

Broadcom's high performance Wi-Fi product line features the greatest breadth and depth in the industry. In addition to transceivers that provide IEEE 802.11g and dual-band 802.11a/g solutions, Broadcom integrates wireless network processors, communications technologies and OneDriver software solutions into reference designs that speed customer time to market. Broadcom partners are developing Wi-Fi enabled client solutions, access points, routers, cable modems, DSL modems, Bluetooth solutions and GPRS cellular products. Broadcom is also shipping AirForce One(TM), the world's first single-chip wireless LAN solution that enables Wi-Fi connectivity in pocket-sized mobile devices.

Broadcom Corp.

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