Consortium of Semiconductor and Consumer Electronics Companies Unveils Complete Joint Proposal for IEEE 802.11 Task Group N

Consortium of Semiconductor and Consumer Electronics Companies
Unveils Complete Joint Proposal for IEEE 802.11 Task Group N
Industry Leaders Airgo, Bermai, Broadcom, Conexant, STMicroelectronics and
Texas Instruments Proposed Standard Achieves 540 Mbps Data Rate, Meets
Stringent World-Wide Regulatory Requirements and Provides Important Legacy
Interoperability With Existing Wi-Fi Devices 


DALLAS, Aug. 12  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A consortium of companies
collaborating under the moniker "WWiSE" today announced their intended
submission of a complete joint proposal to the IEEE 802.11 Task Group N (TGn),
which is chartered with developing a next-generation Wi-Fi standard capable of
sustaining data throughput in excess of 100Mbps.  The technology foundation is
based on MIMO-OFDM.  IEEE 802.11n will be an especially important standard in
the WLAN market as it will build upon and extend the capabilities for the vast
number of users currently enjoying the benefits of Wi-Fi connectivity.
Companies within the WWiSE consortium that contributed to the proposal are
Airgo Networks, Bermai, Broadcom, Conexant Systems, Inc., STMicroelectronics
and Texas Instruments.

"WWiSE" stands for worldwide spectrum efficiency, a key element for all
proposals submitted to Task Group N.  As such, the WWiSE proposal was developed
with global deployment and backwards compatibility with all other Wi-Fi
standards as its principal and mandatory requirements.  Additional
considerations included data-rate compliance with worldwide regulatory
requirements in important regional markets such as Japan.  The proposal also
offers a royalty-free license option from the WWiSE companies.  Such license
options are designed to facilitate the worldwide deployment of 802.11n
technology.

The WWiSE proposal builds on the existing and globally adopted 20MHz channel
format of the tens of millions of Wi-Fi devices already in use.  This approach
ensures support for the existing worldwide installed base, while improving the
performance of Wi-Fi networks within the designated RF spectrum. Further, the
coalition companies represent an important cross-section of both the IC supply
and consumption segments that comprise the Wi-Fi marketplace, promoting a
strong relationship between developers and end-product manufacturers.

Highlights of the WWiSE proposal

The technical aspects of the WWiSE proposal mark a significant improvement in
the capability of 802.11 implementations.  Key features include:

   1.  Mandatory use of the approved, pre-existing, worldwide 20MHz Wi-Fi
       channel width, assuring immediate applicability and deployment in all
       regulatory jurisdictions.

   2.  Enhanced MIMO-OFDM technology is key to achieving a maximum data rate
       of 135 Mbps in the minimum mandatory 2x2 configuration and a single
       20MHz channel to keep implementation costs low, while greatly
       improving upon simple antenna additions or channel bonding schemes.

   3.  Rates up to 540 Mbps, accomplished with a 4x4 MIMO structure and
       40MHz channel width (where permissible by regulatory bodies), provide
       a roadmap for future devices and applications.

   4.  Mandatory modes affording backwards compatibility and
       interoperability with existing Wi-Fi devices in the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz
       bands to ensure strong support of legacy deployments.

   5.  Advanced forward-error-correction coding option to facilitate maximum
       coverage and range, applicable in all MIMO configurations and channel
       bandwidths.

  Intellectual Property (IP) Position of WWiSE Contributors


The contributing member companies of WWiSE have jointly agreed to specific IP
licensing terms for their proposal.  Under IEEE requirements, all proposal
submissions to TGn must be made under acceptance of RAND licensing (Reasonable
and Non-Discriminatory) terms to all parties.  WWiSE contributing companies
fully comply with this requirement.  In addition, if the WWiSE proposal is
selected as the 802.11n standard, these companies have further agreed that
reciprocal RAND-Z licenses (RAND under Zero royalty) to their essential IP will
be available to any party upon request.

Under this agreement, which is not a patent pool, but a reciprocal royalty-free
individual license option, WWiSE member companies will not charge developers
for an 802.11n license for their respective patent claims that are essential to
implementing the standard.  This will lower costs for developers, manufacturers
and consumers.  It is not necessary to be a contributor to the WWiSE proposal
in order to take advantage of this license offer, which is expected to gain
considerable support among the Wi-Fi product developer community.

Further information about WWiSE, the WWiSE proposal to IEEE 802.11 TGn and the
WWiSE IP statement may be found at http://www.wwise.org/.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements contained in this press release regarding adoption of the WWiSE
proposal and the 802.11n standard, and other statements of management's
beliefs, goals and expectations may be considered "forward-looking statements"
as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these
statements.  The following factors and the factors discussed in the most recent
Forms 10-K of the WWiSE participants (as applicable) could cause actual results
to differ materially from the statements contained in this press release:
actual adoption of the WWiSE proposal. We disclaim any intention or obligation
to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring
after the date of this press release.

About Airgo Networks, Inc.

Airgo Networks develops breakthrough technology and Wireless LAN (WLAN)
products that enhance existing applications and enable new applications by
substantially improving the quality and convenience of the WLAN user
experience.  Airgo has led the Wi-Fi industry movement to standardize MIMO OFDM
technology.  The team at Airgo was the first to publish the theoretical
benefits of MIMO wireless in the mid 1990s and was the first to deliver mass
market MIMO chipsets to the Wi-Fi equipment market in 2003.  Airgo's chipsets,
software and reference design solutions provide secure, easy-to-use,
standards-compliant WLAN capabilities that work in both the 2.4GHz and 5 GHz
bands.  Airgo's products are based on the IEEE 802.11 standards and provide
significant increases in throughput and coverage area performance unmatched by
any other Wi-Fi devices currently available. This breakthrough wireless
technology known as True MIMO(TM), an enhanced signal processing version of
MIMO, provides cost-effective performance for the most bandwidth-intensive
applications, eliminating the need for wires at home, at work, and in public
places.  Founded in November 2000, the company is headquartered in Palo Alto,
California, USA; an additional development center is located in Breukelen, The
Netherlands.  Information about Airgo Networks technology and solutions is
available at http://www.airgonetworks.com/.

About Bermai, Inc.

Founded in March 2001, Bermai is pioneering high performance, ultra- integrated
chipsets for Wi-Fi applications from Wireless LAN to wireless multimedia. Named
a Red Herring 100 Finalist in 2004, Bermai is delivering a complete product
portfolio of innovative single and dual-band systems, such as 802.11a, 802.11g,
and 802.11a/g, that support the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. Bermai's
designs offer unmatched integration and are optimized to deliver extended range
and performance, power efficiency, and flexibility at a significant cost
advantage. These ultra-integrated solutions greatly simplify product
development and enable wireless equipment manufacturers to build high
performance products faster and with dramatic cost efficiencies addressing
Multimedia applications. For more information, visit http://www.bermai.com/.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a leading provider of highly integrated semiconductor
solutions that enable broadband communications and networking of voice, video
and data services. Broadcom designs, develops and supplies complete
system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions incorporating digital, analog, radio frequency
(RF), microprocessor and digital signal processing (DSP) technologies, as well
as related hardware and software system-level applications.  Its diverse
product portfolio addresses every major broadband communications market and
includes solutions for digital cable and satellite set-top boxes; high
definition television (HDTV); cable and digital subscriber line (DSL) modems
and residential gateways; high-speed transmission and switching for local,
metropolitan, wide area and storage networking; home and wireless networking;
cellular and terrestrial wireless communications; Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) gateway and telephony systems; broadband network and security
processors; and SystemI/O(TM) server solutions.  These technologies and
products support the company's core mission:  Connecting everything(R). 
Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and may be contacted at
1-949-450-8700 or at http://www.broadcom.com/.

About Conexant

Conexant's innovative semiconductor solutions are driving broadband
communications, enterprise networks and digital home networks worldwide.  The
company has leveraged its expertise and leadership position in modem
technologies to enable more Internet connections than all of its competitors
combined, and continues to develop highly integrated silicon solutions for
broadband data and media processing networks.  Key products include client-
side xDSL and cable modem solutions, home network processors, broadcast video
encoders and decoders, digital set-top box components and systems solutions,
and dial-up modems.  Conexant's suite of networking components includes a
leadership portfolio of IEEE 802.11a/b/g-compliant WLAN chipsets, software and
reference designs, as well as solutions for applications based on HomePlug(R)
and HomePNA(TM).  The company also offers a complete line of asymmetric and
symmetric DSL central office solutions, which are used by service providers
worldwide to deliver broadband data, voice, and video over copper telephone
lines.  Conexant is a fabless semiconductor company with annual run-rate
revenues of approximately $1.2 billion.  The company has approximately 2,400
employees worldwide, and is headquartered in Red Bank, N.J.  To learn more,
please visit us at http://www.conexant.com/.

About STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics is a global leader in developing and delivering
semiconductor solutions across the spectrum of microelectronics applications.
An unrivalled combination of silicon and system expertise, manufacturing
strength, Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio and strategic partners positions
the Company at the forefront of System-on-Chip (SoC) technology and its
products play a key role in enabling today's convergence markets. The Company's
shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, on Euronext Paris and on the
Milan Stock Exchange. In 2003, the Company's net revenues were $7.24 billion
and net earnings were $253 million. Further information on ST can be found at
http://www.st.com/.

About Texas Instruments Broadband Solutions

For OEMs developing broadband communications solutions, TI's advanced signal
processing-based silicon and software platforms deliver the optimal
performance, lower power consumption, and system-level integration required to
rapidly deploy differentiated next-generation products for cable modems,
digital subscriber line (xDSL) modems, integrated access devices (IADs), Voice
over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gateways, carrier infrastructure, and home and
office wireless networking.  See http://www.ti.com/broadband.

Trademarks

All registered trademarks and other trademarks belong to their respective
owners.

   Media Contacts:
   Airgo Networks
       SparkPR, Joe Volat      415-962-8200-X230  
                Rick Loughery  415-962-8200-X248
   Bermai
       Neil Hamady             650-331-8732       

   Broadcom
       Henry Rael              949-926-5734       

   Conexant
       Gwen Carlson            949-483-7363       

   STMicroelectronics
       Michael Markowitz       212-821-8959       

   Texas Instruments
       Caroline Rad            972-308-9129       

STMicroelectronics; Texas Instruments

DATASOURCE: Airgo Networks; Bermai; Broadcom; Conexant Systems, Inc.;



CONTACT:  Joe Volat, ext. 230, , or Rick Loughery,

ext. 248, both of SparkPR, [phone], for Airgo Networks; or Neil Hamady

of Bermai, [phone], ; or Henry Rael of Broadcom,

[phone], ; or Gwen Carlson of Conexant,

[phone], ; or Michael Markowitz of

STMicroelectronics, [phone], ; or Caroline

Rad, [phone], , for Texas Instruments



Web site:  http://www.ti.com/broadband

http://www.st.com/

http://www.conexant.com/

http://www.broadcom.com/

http://www.bermai.com/

http://www.wwise.org/ 

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