Comment Articles

A wireless wonderland

Guy Kewney AnchorDesk

Published: 25 Sep 2001 17:03 BST

A breakthrough, which could make high-speed, wireless networks commonplace, has been announced by UK silicon start-up Synad; it will make it possible to build dual-standard LANs.

The new products will use both the existing 11-megabit standard of WiFi's 802.11b products, and the forthcoming 54-megabit 802.11a standard, with a single dual-standard PC card.

The unique development means that many IT managers who were delaying a decision -- because they were worried about adopting the wrong technology -- will be able to plan wireless networking for their offices, knowing that their users will be able to use a single card to access whichever sort of transmitter happens to be nearest.

And of course, it also means that those of us who use wireless at home will be able to carry on using old 11b standard cards at home, and still be able to log on to the office access point.

Synad doesn't have its own silicon fabrication plant. Rather, founders Mike Baker and Ashok Dhuna have come up with a design technology which they say makes them able to produce working silicon in someone else's factory - but much, much sooner than conventional designers could manage.

They started their company only a year ago; already, they have a final design, and expect sample chips before the end of the year, with working wireless cards and access points shipping by next summer. Of course, only time will tell whether this optimism is justified, but they make a convincing claim to have changed the way new versions of the design can be simulated, tested, and upgraded before committing to a chip mask.