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Wi-Fi Alliance(R) Welcomes Atheros(R) Communications As New Sponsor Member

Posted on: Tuesday, 8 April 2008, 09:03 CDT

AUSTIN, Texas, April 8, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Atheros Communications has become a Sponsor member of the Wi-Fi Alliance and has appointed a director to the organization's board. An active member since 1999, Atheros is amongst a group of world-class companies that lead a global, non-profit trade association of approximately 300 member companies. Atheros joins current Sponsor members Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, Dell, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Sony, and Texas Instruments.

The Wi-Fi Alliance, which created the term Wi-Fi, develops testing and certification programs to help ensure the best user experience with Wi-Fi technology. The organization's Wi Fi CERTIFIED(TM) programs, which have been a driving force in the growth of the Wi-Fi market, address interoperability across manufacturers' products and help ensure strong security. According to analyst firm In-Stat, the Wi-Fi industry shipped 300 million chipsets in 2007 and is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 40 percent. More than 4,300 products have been Wi-Fi CERTIFIED to date.

"Atheros is one of the founders of the Wi-Fi industry. They introduced the first 802.11a chipset in 2000 and have long been an active participant in the Wi-Fi Alliance," said Edgar Figueroa, executive director of the Wi-Fi Alliance. "Atheros is a valuable addition to the leadership of the Wi-Fi Alliance as we continue to enable the best Wi-Fi user experience in increasingly diverse applications, product categories and regions."

"Wi-Fi technology has transformed the way consumers use computing and entertainment products, and is fast becoming a must-have feature in all types of electronics," said Craig Barratt, president and chief executive officer of Atheros. "The test programs and market building activities of the Wi-Fi Alliance have played an important role in the adoption of Wi-Fi and continue to contribute to the industry's future success. As a longstanding participant in the Wi-Fi Alliance, Atheros is pleased to join its board and we look forward to helping lead the organization as it works to realize the full potential of Wi-Fi."

Atheros is a leading developer of advanced wireless and wired communications solutions to a broad base of customers, including personal computer, networking equipment and consumer device manufacturers. Its products have been included in each of the Wi-Fi Alliance certification program "test beds," the set of reference products used to test all Wi-Fi devices that undergo Wi-Fi CERTIFIED testing.

A list of all Wi-Fi Alliance members and a searchable database of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products can be found on the web at: http://www.wi-fi.org/.

About the Wi-Fi Alliance

The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global, non-profit industry association of approximately 300 member companies devoted to promoting the growth of wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). With the aim of enhancing the user experience for wireless portable, mobile, and home entertainment devices, the Wi-Fi Alliance's testing and certification programs help ensure the interoperability of WLAN products based on the IEEE 802.11 specification. Since the introduction of the Wi-Fi Alliance's certification program in March 2000, more than 4,300 products have been designated as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED(TM), encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services across the consumer and enterprise markets.

Wi-Fi(R), Wi-Fi Alliance(R), the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo, and the Wi-Fi logo are registered trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance; Wi-Fi CERTIFIED(TM) is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Wi-Fi Alliance

CONTACT: Michael Diamond of Edelman, +1-650-429-2772,michael.diamond@edelman.com, for Wi-Fi Alliance; or Dakota Lee of AtherosCommunications, +1-408-720-5597, dakota@atheros.com; or Dan Munoz of A&REdelman, +1-650-762-2918, dmunoz@ar-edelman.com, for Atheros Communications

Web site: http://www.wi-fi.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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