Atheros introduces new 802.11n single-chip solutions for carrier Wi-Fi gateway market

December 18, 2007 – Atheros Communications has announced the launch of two new single-chip 802.11n solutions designed for the carrier Wi-Fi gateway market, with the two models designed respectively for high-end, multiplay gateways and basic home gateways.

Both designs are intended to allow carrier to broadly deploy home gateways capable of supporting data, voice and video on a single wireless network.  Atheros claims that the new AR9220 and AR9223 11n PCI designs will deliver ten times the throughput and nearly twice the range of legacy 802.11g and 802.11a/g networks. 

The AR9220 is a dual-band, 2.4GHz/5GHz single-chip solution designed for high-end, multiplay gateways and set-top boxes, supporting up to 300Mbps physical data rates and 200Mbps actual user throughput on both uplink and downlink.  The AR9223 is a single-band, 2.4GHz solution designed for basic home gateways, offering up to 300Mbps of actual user throughput.  Both have a PCI interface to allow for direct integration on DSL motherboards.

“Atheros’ new single-chip XSPAN solutions for PCI allow carriers to deploy wireless triple-play gateways to a broader subscriber base at competitive price points,” said Mike Stauffer, Director of Carrier Marketing and Business Development for Atheros.  “Our new AR9220 and AR9223 chips offer the industry’s best throughput, reliability and coverage to deliver content-rich, multimedia networking in the digital home.”

Market research firm Dell’Oro Group projects that the market for 802.11n residential gateways will grow to nearly 64mn units in 2011, as service providers look to expand delivery of rich media services to consumers.