Net.Worker briefs

News of Wi-Fi chipset sales and Netgear dual-band wireless.

Driven by strong growth in the small office/home office and retail market, Wi-Fi chipset shipments far outpaced analyst predictions in 2002, according to an Allied Business Intelligence report. Chipset shipments will reach 23 million to 25 million units, up from 7.9 million in 2001, exceeding the 14 million to 15 million predicted for 2002. The report, “Wi-Fi Integrated Circuits: Industry Dynamics, Market Segmentation and Vendor Analysis for 802.11a/b/g” predicts by the end of 2003, 802.11g will compose 18% of chipset shipments, and by 2004, revenue from dual-band chipsets will exceed those for 802.11g and 802.11b. www.alliedworld.com

Netgear recently announced a dual-band wireless access point. The WAB102 supports 11M bit/sec 802.11b and 54M bit/sec 802.11a client devices, so that small businesses can set up a fast 802.11a network in the office that’s accessible by teleworkers using slower 802.11b at home or in hotspots, for instance. Because the upcoming 802.11g standard is backward-compatible with 802.11b, the access point will work with future 802.11g devices. Netgear provides a three-year warranty and 24-7 technical support. The access point costs $300. www.netgear.com