Infineon, Agere Systems strike accord
German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG, with U.S. headquarters in San Jose, Calif., has formed a broad alliance with Agere Systems of Allentown, Penn., to jointly develop chips for next-generation wireless networking solutions (802.11g) for business, security and public safety systems.
Wireless systems based on so-called wireless local area network technology are seen as one of the most promising growth areas for the information technology industry as sales of personal computers has stagnated somewhat.
Often referred to by the numeric tag 802.11x, wireless LAN uses wireless base-stations linked to a fixed-line network, to establish a radio connection to computers fitted with a WLAN adapter card.
The 802.11g WLAN card/radio connection offers 20 times more bandwidth than current wireless networks, reaching speeds of up to 54 Mbit a second, comparable to the speed of Internet connections over standard fixed-line networks.
Under the agreement, Agere and Infineon will co-develop, supply and support reference designs that include all components required by network equipment, consumer electronics and PC manufacturers to offer wireless networking capabilities. However, both companies will market the next-generation wireless LAN products independently.