NETGEAR Ships IEEE 802.11a Wireless PC Card and Access Point, Expanding High-Speed Wireless Networking Capabilities for the Small Business and Home

Business Wire, Feb 4, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 2002

New Wireless Solution Based on IEEE 802.11a Transfers Data at Rates up

to 5x the Speed of IEEE 802.11b and Offers Reliability, Security and

Ease of Use for the Increasing Number of Wireless LAN Users

NETGEAR Inc., a worldwide provider of small business and home networking products, today announced the availability of its wireless local area networking (LAN) solution based on the IEEE 802.11a standard. NETGEAR is among the first to ship the latest chip design for its 802.11a products. NETGEAR's wireless LAN products offer features that enable homes and businesses, even those without network IT staff, to deploy and maintain secure wireless networks easily and reliably. Features include data transfer rates up to 54Mbps and 72Mbps in turbo mode for more efficient downloads of high-bandwidth applications, such as presentations and spreadsheets -- and the ability for office workers to roam around the office while staying connected to email and the Internet. The NETGEAR 802.11a solution is also ideal for home network users seeking to transmit uninterrupted, bandwidth-intensive audio and video. NETGEAR's wireless LAN solution features a unique, simple configuration process with its Smart Wizard technology, directing users through set up within minutes. It automatically installs the necessary network components, making it easy to use for people with little or no networking experience. Future enhancements of the Smart Wizard will enable users to easily change the wireless network setups of their laptops for use in their offices or at home.

NETGEAR's solution transfers data at five times the standard rate at about twice the price of existing 802.11b products, and enables users to network without the time and expense of laying Ethernet cable. The solution was built to accommodate the capacity and flexibility of growing networks, as well as the migration of an entire network to a new site. The product family currently includes the HA501 Wireless PC Card, the HE102 Wireless Access Point, the HR314 Cable/DSL Wireless Router and the HA301 Wireless PCI Adapter.

"The IEEE 802.11a industry standard offers capabilities never before available in wireless networking," said Patrick Lo, president and chief executive officer of NETGEAR. "NETGEAR is committed to offering feature-rich, wireless connectivity that is simple to set up and use. With NETGEAR's 54Mbps Wireless LAN solution, we've realized the vision for network environments that require fast implementation, high security and network flexibility. We are again providing users with the best value and performance by delivering simple and secure wireless connectivity with the power to increase employee efficiency and productivity -- no matter where they are."

"The number of wireless LAN products being used in the SOHO and home market is expected to increase 45% annually from 2002 to 2006, reaching over $3.6 billion in products by the end of the forecast," said Mike Wolf, director of networking research at Cahners In-Stat Group. "Products like those in NETGEAR's 802.11a product family will be in high demand, as the increasing number of wireless users grow and demand the higher performance of 802.11a. They will also be looking for products that are designed to be reliable and easy to use, right out-of-the-box."

NETGEAR Wireless LAN Products Based on IEEE 802.11a

The NETGEAR line of 54Mbps Wireless LAN products use the Atheros AR5000 chip set that strictly adheres to the IEEE 802.11a specification for optimized reliability and interoperability. Furthermore, IEEE 802.11a wireless networking offers a clean 5 GHz spectrum, providing a clear signal with no interference from IEEE 802.11b, Bluetooth devices and other 2.4 GHz products. NETGEAR solutions are secure and offer industry standard 64-bit/128-bit/152-bit WEP encryption for optimal privacy. The solutions are compatible with major versions of the Microsoft(TM) Windows Operating Systems, including Windows XP. NETGEAR will seek Wi-Fi5 interoperability and logo certification for the IEEE 802.11a products when the interoperability test program has been established by WECA, the certification body for 802.11 wireless products.

NETGEAR HA501 54Mbps Wireless PC Card

The NETGEAR HA501 Wireless PC Card is a 32-bit CardBus adapter for notebook PCs. It allows mobile users simple and intuitive access to corporate LANs and the Internet with data transfer rates of up to 54Mbps and 72Mbps in turbo mode. Pentium(R) Class PC users running Windows 98/2000/NT4.0/Me/XP can take advantage of the NETGEAR HA501 for constant wireless access to email, the Internet and other valuable resources. It is available for a CardBus PC Card Type II Slot and requires only 2MB of free hard drive space. The PC Card is easy to use -- simply plug into a laptop PC Card slot and download the utility and device driver to obtain network access. The NETGEAR HA501 is available for an expected street price of $179.