Implemented on a mini-PCI card, the all-CMOS two-chip combination includes a baseband/media access control connecting to a b/g transceiver. It emphasizes low power, complete standards compliance and an auto-detect function that is designed to maintain maximum data rates.

To date, the Intel's only wireless LAN chip set developed from the ground up was its 802.11a/b device announced last October. However, only the .11a portion was Intel's; the .11b portion was essentially the same as Centrino's, which borrows technology from Texas Instruments, Philips and Symbol Technologies at the MAC and physical layer.

However, leveraging expertise developed by Intel at its wireless networking facilities in Haifa, Israel, and San Diego, the company developed a homegrown .11b/g solution, dubbed the PRO/Wireless 2200BG, though the power amplifier remains external and comes from an undisclosed third-party.

"We're pretty excited as we didn't have anyone really focused on this [WLANs] until two years ago," said Julie Coppernoll, director of marketing for the Wireless Networking Group at Intel. She said Intel has had a design team based in Haifa for about 20 years, giving it ready access to the talent needed to develop the chip set.

"We really worked hard on power and performance," she said, pointing to features such as per-packet antenna diversity, dynamic radio collaboration, numerous low-power states and clock gating and multiple power planes.

According to Josh Newman, director of engineering at Intel's wireless group, the company took advantage of a 20,000-square-foot facility in San Diego with multiple access points to develop a WLAN solution that could maximize throughput and connectivity in the face of multipath reflections.

"We also implemented an auto-detect function that could detect when it was best to switch from OFDM [.11g] to CCK [.11b] to ensure the fastest data rate possible," he said, "while ensuring interoperability and standards compliance."

The statement represents a rebuke of some WLAN chip manufacturers who are implementing such nonstandard features as channel bonding and packet bursting to get to rates as high 108 Mbits/s.

The chip set implements Wireless Protected Access (WPA) as defined by the Wi-Fi Alliance, and will also implement quality-of-service features in the form of Wireless Multimedia Extensions (WME) later in the first half of 2004.

Pricing is set at $25 per 10,000, and the company will demonstrate the chip set at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 17 at Park City, Utah. During the demonstration, the InDigEnt motion picture "November," will be shown using 802.11g technology to wirelessly broadcast the high-definition film to moviegoers who will view it on new Sony VAIO notebook PCs based on Intel Centrino mobile technology.

By: DocMemory
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