Chip vendor claims wireless breakthrough
A startup is sampling a chip set that it says will improve dramatically the range and performance of wireless LANs and eliminate current security problems. Airgo Networks' chip sets blend advances from several technologies. The result, CEO Greg Raleigh says, will be WLAN access points with two-and-a-half to five times the range of existing products and at least two to four times the throughput of existing WLAN products. They also will maintain throughput at longer distances, he says.
Airgo chips for 802.11a could reach 300 feet or more and support a minimum throughput of about 34Mbps. The maximum 802.11a data rate is 54Mbps, with a range at that rate of about 100 feet. (It can reach further but the rate drops.) Actual 802.11a throughput typically is in the 17Mbps to 22Mbps range.
