Working in conjunction with semiconductor vendor UMC, Synad has launched the Mercury5G chipset that operates on both the 802.11b (Wi-Fi) and the faster 802.11a wireless LAN standards.

According to Synad, the Mercury5G will unleash a new breed of client interface products that can connect and interoperate with an 802.11 wireless local area network operating at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.

For IT professionals, the Mercury5G chipset could lessen the confusion about whether to deploy the incompatible 802.11b and 802.11a product lines or wait for products based on the much-anticipated 802.11g standard.

While the 802.11a standard offers maximum transmission speeds of 54 Mbps over 8 channels, versus 802.11b with a top speed of 11 Mbps over three channels, it is not compatible with the old Wi-Fi standard, since it operates on a different spectrum.

Mercury5G is based on Synad’s patent pending AgileRF architecture, devised by Synad to deliver interoperability between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz 802.11 networks without compromising data throughput, range or performance.

Mercury5G promises to deliver the following:

• Enhanced MAC functionality, which is critical to the future of enterprise wireless networks.
• Powerful security features, including WEP and AES encryption along with support for authentication protocols.
• High quality multimedia streaming, which is enabled with Quality of Service protocols supported by an advanced DMA engine that delivers packet prioritization.