Mobile WLAN chips, which enable WiFi connectivity to mobile devices, including cell phones, PDAs and MP3 players, seek to replace some applications of Bluetooth.
The technology could be a boon for a mobile workforce. The reach of WiFi (802.11x) is typically about 300 feet, far beyond Bluetooth’s 30-feet range. And while Bluetooth transmits data at about 700 kilobits per second, WiFi positively zips along at between 7 megabits to 25 megabits per second, depending on its variety, said InStat analyst Allan Nogee.
Mobile WLAN also could spell cheaper mobile phone calls for users by enabling VoIP, he said.
The market for mobile wireless LAN is fairly new and so it’s just starting to take off, Nogee said.
Keen to get a piece of the action is Atheros, based in Sunnyvale, California, which said earlier this week it was testing two new mobile WLAN chips, a single- and a dual-band chip called the AR6001G and AR6001X, respectively.
The company began sampling its chips this month with a handful of customers, with volume production scheduled for the third quarter, said Alex Liu, Atheros’ business development manager. Expect some major products launched with our technology early next year, Liu said.
Newport Beach, California-based Conexant, however, is already shipping its mobile WLAN chips in volume quantities, it announced the same day as Atheros.
Conexant had been sampling its chip with a lead customer, a large cell phone maker not based in the US, for about a year, said Tim Muth, Conexant VP of marketing. The company also has been sampling with six or seven other customers for the past six or seven months, he said.
We have a major customer that is starting to go into production and we felt this was the right time to let the market know we had it, Muth said on Conexant’s timing to announce its CX3110X chip.
Analyst Nogee said Atheros is a leader in the WLAN market, and its evolution into mobile is a natural one. However, both newcomers compete against Texas Instruments, which launched its first mobile WLAN chip way back in September 2002. TI is now shipping its fourth-generation of that technology. TI’s chips are used by the likes of Hewlett-Packard Co (for PDAs), Nokia, NEC and Motorola.
TI spokesperson Marisa Speziale said Atheros and Conexant would likely face challenges in the mobile WLAN market, since WLAN has very different requirements from the home-networking milieu, which is where Atheros and Conexant have previously played. She pointed to interference issues inherent in mobile WLAN as an example of technical difficulties that TI has overcome.
Still, the Dallas, Texas-based company issued a public statement on the heels of Atheros’ and Conexant’s, declaring TI drives WLAN technology into mobile devices with more than 20 customer products shipping today.
Atheros’ Liu said that because Atheros is not focused just on cell phones, unlike TI, it has a broader legacy in WiFi development with other types of equipment makers and, therefore, a competitive advantage. He also pointed to Conexant having a competitive weakness by entering the market by buying troubled wireless chip maker Intersil Corp more than a year ago. Conexant as a whole is in deep trouble and you see an overall customer allergy to them, Liu said.
Conexant’s Muth said Atheros was certainly a competitor but that we haven’t seen them in this space that much yet.
The market for mobile WLAN silicon will likely continue to attract new players. Market research IDC projects sales of WLAN-enabled mobile devices will reach $614M by 2009, a 95% compound average growth rate.
