WLAN Chips Bolster Telecomm Access Markets

Targeting home and small-office network markets, the Amazon analog front end and WildCard WLAN MAC and baseband processor promise cost effective set-top boxes, DSL modems, routers, and other home gateways employing triple-play topologies. The Amazon integrates an ADSL2/2+ engine, analog front end, line driver, MIPS processor, 10/100 Ethernet MAC, PHY, and PCI interfaces on a single chip to support wire-speed data throughput from the WAN to the LAN. It comes with complete reference designs and system software. Billed as a cost- effective 802.11a/b/g WLAN solution, the WildCard integrates a WLAN MAC, baseband processor and a PCI interface on a single chip. Features include 32-bit performance, PCI bus master capability, and wireless Ethernet speeds up to 54 Mb/s. Quantity pricing for Amazon is less than $10 each. INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG, San Jose, CA. (408) 501-6390.