Atheros, Broadcom cut the power of speedy Wi-Fi

Broadcom and Atheros each introduced chipsets for connecting notebooks to wireless networks, emphasizing the reduced power consumption of their latest products.

Both companies manufacture the silicon that notebook vendors use to offer built-in wireless capabilities. The new products improve the power consumption of wireless networks that operate on the 802.11a and 802.11g standards, both companies said.

Those standards enable wireless download speeds as fast as 54M bit/sec, but can drain the batteries of notebooks and handhelds relatively quickly. With their new products, Broadcom and Atheros claim to have reduced the power consumption of high-speed wireless chipsets to less than the power consumed by many lower-speed 802.11b chipsets.

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Broadcom and Atheros each introduced chipsets for connecting notebooks to wireless networks, emphasizing the reduced power consumption of their latest products.

Both companies manufacture the silicon that notebook vendors use to offer built-in wireless capabilities. The new products improve the power consumption of wireless networks that operate on the 802.11a and 802.11g standards, both companies said.

Those standards enable wireless download speeds as fast as 54M bit/sec, but can drain the batteries of notebooks and handhelds relatively quickly. With their new products, Broadcom and Atheros claim to have reduced the power consumption of high-speed wireless chipsets to less than the power consumed by many lower-speed 802.11b chipsets.

The Atheros chipsets come in two varieties, one that supports 802.11b and 802.11g networks, and one that supports those two standards plus 802.11a networks. By using a new multiphase signal processing technique, the chipsets consume 20% less power during transmit mode than Intel's Pro/Wireless chip for 802.11b networks, and 95% less power in idle mode, Atheros claimed.

Broadcom compared its new 802.11a and combination 802.11a/802.11g chipsets to Intel's Centrino package of the Pentium M processor, a mobile chipset and the Intel Pro/Wireless 2100 chip. The battery in a notebook using one of Broadcom's new wireless chips will last 20 minutes longer than a battery in a Centrino notebook, according to Broadcom.

Intel has yet to release a chip based on the faster 802.11 standards. It announced last week that its 802.11a chip won't be out until October, and the company isn't expected to deliver a combination 802.11b/802.11g chip until the end of this year, months after products from Atheros, Broadcom and others.

The new Atheros chipsets are available in volume immediately to its partners. The AR5004X works with all three wireless standards, and the AR5004G supports 802.11g and 802.11b networks. Broadcom's chipsets are also immediately available to its partners.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.