Linksys Launches Wireless-G (IEEE-802.11g)

[Steven]

This artcle is quite old, but as an update, these products are NOW SHIPPING..

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Linksys First to Make High Speed 2.4GHz Wireless-G Networking Solutions Available for Home, Business and Hotspots

Linksys Wireless-G 54Mbps/2.4GHz Products Available End of December

IRVINE, CA and LAS VEGAS, NV ? November 18, 2002 ? Linksys?, the leading global manufacturer of broadband, wireless, and networking hardware for the Small/Medium Business (SMB), Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) and home environments, today announced the Company will be first to ship 2.4GHz/54Mbps Wireless-G products to consumers mid December through select major retailers and e-commerce partners. Designed to the IEEE 802.11g draft specification, the first of the Instant Wireless-G line to be available will consist of a PC Card, Access Point and Wireless Router. These products will be on display at the Linksys booth at Comdex ? North Hall, Booth #3608 in the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The new Wireless-G products run at speeds of up to 54Mbps and operate on the same 2.4GHz frequency band as 802.11b/Wi-Fi products. These new generation wireless LAN solutions are backward compatible with existing Wi-Fi certified IEEE 802.11b products and with other products that display the 54g? mark. Current Wireless-B products already installed will continue to be operational and interoperable with new Wireless-G products being added to a home or business network.

"There is clearly a demand for higher speed 2.4GHz WLAN products," said Victor Tsao, Linksys President and CEO. "As the worldwide leader in shipments of wireless LAN products, we are committed in being first to offer and deliver the latest wireless technology that improves upon the value, performance and usability of a wireless network. Based on the IEEE 802.11g draft specification, this launch of Wireless-G lets us provide immediate higher speed wireless connectivity at home, work and hot spots locations without compromising the use of existing 802.11b products."

Higher Speed 2.4GHz Wireless Meets Market Demands

Wireless-G is the natural progression from Wireless-B, just as 100BaseTX was from 10BaseT Ethernet. Many applications require higher bandwidth to operate or to achieve better performance such as video streaming or video conferencing, transferring large graphic files and real-time computer gaming. Wireless-G solutions can be ideal for these applications with a 54Mbps data rate that is up to 5 times faster than current shipping 2.4GHz products.

Instat/MDR, a leading market research firm, recently reported that 38% of the existing home networks have a wireless LAN to share files, printers, Internet access and play games. By the end of 2004 more than 17 million homes in the US will have some form of home network. Gemma Paulo, Sr. Analyst at Instat/MDR said, "Linksys is helping to drive the adoption of wireless home networking with higher speed WLAN devices during the holiday season. "However, this launch of 54Mbps 2.4GHz products changes the dynamics of the industry, as it opens the door to very high speed, affordable wireless networking in the 2.4GHz band."

The Linksys Instant Wireless-G PC Card, Wireless-G Access Point and Wireless-G Router are equipped with Broadcom?s new BCM4306 baseband/MAC (media access controller) chip and BCM2050 2.4GHz radio which enables the 54Mbps connectivity in the 2.4GHz radio frequency band. Linksys and Broadcom have been working jointly since the 802.11g draft specification was announced in September in order to deliver product in time for the holiday gift-giving season. These new 2.4GHz wireless products will also be capable of Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) when the certification process is announced in early 2003. A simple firmware download will provide the upgrade necessary to conform to this subset of the IEEE 802.11i draft standard. Linksys Wireless-G products will be available early December and will be compatible with all Wi-Fi certified 802.11b products at 11Mbps as well as other Wireless-G products at 54Mbps that have the 54g? badge on the package.

Why Consumers Should Consider Wireless-G:

Consumers should consider Wireless-G products if they have needs or plans for any of the following:

Share files or Internet access with multiple computers on the network at high speeds without having to string cables or rewire their home or office.

Want to experience up to 54Mbps speeds on their wireless Local Area Network while maintaining backward compatibility with 802.11b products.

Are setting up a Wireless LAN for the first time. 54Mbps speeds will enable a wider range of future applications, including security monitoring, video on demand and many others.

Would like a better price/performance value for wireless networking. Consumers will pay a premium of only up to 20% more for up to five times the performance.

Are looking for a great gift idea!

Wireless is the hottest selling networking technology right now and is expected to grow another 70% in unit sales in 2003 to reach just shy of 30 million units.

Linksys has already shipped over 3 million wireless products since last year and leads in worldwide shipments for the home and small office environments. In U.S. Retail, Linksys dominates the wireless market with 55% marketshare in units sold and 57% in terms of revenue marketshare according to NPD Techworld for YTD through September 2002.

Pricing and Availability

The new Wireless-G products will be available first week of December through distribution and select major retail and e-commerce stores. Prices are estimated street.

Linksys Wireless-G PC Card (WPC54G) ESP $ 79.99

Linksys Wireless-G Access Point (WAP54G): ESP $ 139.99

Linksys Wireless-G Router (WRT54G): ESP $ 149.99

About Linksys

Linksys, an award-winning global leader in the development of wireless, broadband and LAN networking solutions for the Home, Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) and Small/Medium Business (SMB) corporate environments, is the leading manufacturer of networking hardware in both retail and e-commerce channels and is the fastest growing networking solution provider for the SMB corporate sector. Linksys products are sold through leading distributors, computer resellers, direct response, broadband service providers and e-commerce and retail stores worldwide. 24/7 Grade "A" product support (PC Magazine, August 2002) is provided free to all Linksys customers. For more information, visit the Linksys web site at http://www.linksys.com, email [email protected] or call toll-free 1-800-LINKSYS (546-5797).

Source: Linksys Press Releases

http://www.linksys.com/press/press.asp?pri...d=94&cyear=2002