News
Issue #2003 - 19 (June 2003)
(Updated June 19, 2003)

TECHNOLOGY

Single Chip 802.11g Silicon Solutions On The Horizon - Linley 

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—June 10, 2003—The 802.11 chip market will see major shifts in technology and vendor share by 2004 according to “A Guide to Wireless LAN Chip Sets,” a new report released today by The Linley Group. 

Dual-conversion BiCMOS and SiGe radio designs are quickly being displaced by direct-conversion CMOS transceivers. Digital MAC/baseband components are incorporating features such as AES encryption, for the emerging 802.11i security standard. The Linley Group predicts that CMOS radio designs will lead to single-chip 802.11g products reaching production by 2Q04.

"Although neither company has announced such a product, we believe Broadcom and Texas Instruments are best positioned to deliver the industry’s first single-chip WLAN product.” says Linley Gwennap, president and principal analyst of The Linley Group. “Broadcom already produces its 802.11g transceiver in 0.18-micron CMOS technology, while TI developed the industry’s first 0.13-micron CMOS 802.11a/b/g MAC/baseband device. Both companies have already shipped single-chip Bluetooth products operating in the same 2.4GHz spectrum as 802.11b/g."

“A Guide to Wireless LAN Chip Sets” provides in-depth analysis of eight major vendors: Agere, Atheros, Atmel, Broadcom, Intersil, Marvell, RF Micro Devices, and Texas Instruments. The report also covers chip sets from newcomers to this market such as AMD, Intel, and several startups. It explores product strengths and weaknesses and presents key details in a consistent, easy-to-compare fashion. The authors pay particular attention to product features, performance, architecture, system design, and vendor roadmaps. The Linley Group’s expert analysis and conclusions help you identify critical differences in these products.

About The Linley Group
The Linley Group provides independent technology analysis for the networking-silicon industry, covering emerging areas such as network processors, switch fabrics, search engines, 802.11 chip sets, and TCP processors. The company provides in-depth technology reports and interactive seminars as well as strategic consulting services tailored to the individual client.

Source: Linleygroup Press Release

For more information: http://www.linleygroup.com

MobileInfo Comments and Advisory: Multi-mode single chip silicon solutions for 802.11(a/b/g) will help solve problems of being able to connect devices to different wireless networks. Ultimately, software radios will help in a big way.

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