November 15, 2000

Grade A
Intersil outlines 802.11a chip plans

Wireless-LAN chipmaker Intersil has announced plans to develop a suite of chip sets and reference designs for future 5-GHz WLAN systems operating in accordance with the IEEE's 802.11a standard.

A leading player in the 2.4-GHz, 11-Mbit/sec, 802.11b market with its PRISM I, II, and 2.5 offerings, the company expects to deliver samples of a complete 5-GHz, 54-Mbit/sec chip set by the middle of 2001, hitting full production during the year's second half. As with 802.11b-based PRISM product line, the company will target home and office applications, deploying reference designs, evaluation kits, firmware, and software.

Equipment manufacturers who serve the enterprise market will likely drive the movement to 5-GHz, 802.11a products, says Larry Ciaccia, vice president and general manager for PRISM Wireless Products at Intersil. As corporate offices deploy 100-Mbit/sec wired Ethernet networks, IT departments will be looking to deploy wireless nodes that operate at data rates higher than the 11-Mbits/sec currently achieved in the 2.4-GHz band.

The 802.11a systems will coexist peacefully (read: no interference) with existing 802.11b networks, enabling companies to provide faster performance to workers who need it.

The home market will eventually benefit from the higher bandwidth too, Ciaccia contends. With 54-Mbit/sec wireless transmission, it becomes more practical to let multi-channel video, voice, and CD-quality audio fly through the home. Recognizing that the home is much more cost-sensitive than the enterprise market, Intersil plans to develop smaller and more integrated designs with lower power consumption and bill-of-materials cost.

—Margot Suydam