Product category:
Communications ICs (Wireless)
News Release from: Synad Technologies
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 26 September 2001
Startup's chipset will handle both
wireless LANs
Fabless chip startup Synad Technologies has announced its core technology platform.
Fabless chip startup Synad Technologies has announced its core technology platform AgileRF is an architecture claimed to deliver roaming capability, mobility and interoperability in wireless local area networks
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 5 Dec 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Chipset covers both wireless net standards
According to Synad Technologies, Mercury5G is the world's first complete dual-mode chipset, which makes it possible for the first time to build dual-standard wireless LANs.
Working silicon supports dual WLAN standards
Synad has taken delivery of a working implementation of Mercury5G, its two-chip dual-band WLAN chipset, from semiconductor foundry partner UMC.
The first deliverable of the AgileRF architecture from Synad will be the world's first dual-mode IEEE 802.11a and IEEE 802.11b chipset roaming solution for wireless local area network (WLAN) clients, typically portable PCs.
The AgileRF architecture consists of three elements: RF switching management to maintain a wireless link with an access point; access point mapping awareness surveillance to determine the strength availability of other access points in the users vicinity; and an association management function to manage the switching process between different access points without dropping network connectivity for the user.
The AgileRF architecture will enable dynamic switching between 802.11a and 802.11b to whichever access point is providing the optimum service without user intervention.
Further reading
Dual-mode WLAN chipset goes on show
Synad has begun demonstrating its Mercury5G dual mode chipset for 802.11a, b and g wireless standards.
WLAN chipset supports Wi-Fi Protected Access
Fabless WLAN SoC company Synad has confirmed its support for Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA).
This will enable 802.11a and 802.11b to coexist interoperably from the users perspective, on the same wireless local area network.
802.11a, the emerging standard for wireless networks delivers five times the throughput of its established 802.11b counterpart.
"The AgileRF architecture addresses the fact that 802.11a and 802.11b are not interoperable, and the fact that there is no evolutionary path from one standard to another means that they are potentially competitive.
At the very least the confusion caused in the market by the co-existence of two standards is stalling adoption of wireless networks", said Mike Baker, CEO and Founder, Synad.
Synad believes that by addressing the Achilles heel of wireless networking head on it will ultimately drive migration from 802.11b to the faster 802.11a standard.
Beyond this, Synad believes that removing the confusion between the two wireless standards will accelerate the adoption of wireless local area networking (LAN).
"Synad is removing the technical hurdle to migration and interoperability between 802.11a and 802.11b.
By enabling roaming between the two standards users of wireless networks can become agnostic to the standards issues", said Baker.
The need for interoperability is most acute in emerging public area networks such as in airports and hotels or wherever network provision is not managed as part of the same a corporate enterprise environment, yet still the user demands seamless connectivity.
Synad will announce the specification of its chip set in Q4 2001 and will demonstrate the technology in Q1 2002.
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