Atheros Goes Mobile

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Atheros Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHR), a leading developer of advanced wireless solutions, today announced its first Radio-on-Chip for Mobile (ROCm™) products. These single-chip wireless LAN (WLAN) solutions deliver the robust, high-throughput performance of Atheros data- and video-networking products plus the characteristics required for mobile devices: low power consumption, small form factor, and low-overhead operation for the host device. These characteristics make the Atheros ROCm platform ideal for consumer products such as dual-mode cellular phones, VoIP handsets, MP3 portable media players, digital still/video cameras, and gaming consoles.

The ROCm family includes single- and dual-band chips, the AR6001G and AR6001X, respectively. Both chips provide 54-Mbps connectivity to a market traditionally served by lower-rate solutions that consume far more power.

“We are focused on bringing Atheros-class high-performance 802.11g and 802.11a/g capability to a broad range of mobile electronics devices,” said Craig Barratt, president and chief executive officer of Atheros. “By leveraging the high performance of our core product line from the data-networking world, our ROCm platform delivers unparalleled Atheros wireless LAN technology with battery-friendly power consumption. The new ROCm chips have already received significant design wins with major OEMs.”

“WLAN semiconductor technology is approaching a point where high performance, small form factor, and low pricing is making it easier to integrate the technology into embedded products,” said Celeste Crystal, senior analyst at IDC. “We anticipate strong growth in WLAN-enabled mobile devices, reaching $614M by 2009, a 95% compound average growth rate (CAGR). This growth will be driven by the trend to wirelessly connect all types of mobile and handheld devices.”

Atheros Communications Inc.