SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug 19, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Libertas(TM) Chipset Offers Breakthrough Solutions to Allow "Worry-Free" Wireless LAN Connectivity
Marvell(R) (NASDAQ:MRVL), a
technology leader in the development of extreme broadband communications
solutions, today solved critical issues hindering the widespread adoption of
Wireless LANs by offering the industry's most integrated, two-chip, CMOS 802.11b
Wireless LAN solutions. The Marvell Libertas(TM) chipsets are optimized to
provide unprecedented levels of performance and incorporate new features that
will make Wireless LAN a standard feature in enterprise infrastructures,
laptops, home gateways, and consumer electronic devices.
Current competing solutions prevent the mass deployment of Wireless LANs due to
problems with short range, poor battery management, weak interference immunity,
and insufficient security. To improve range, the Marvell Libertas solutions
incorporate advanced Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology that lessens the
impact of multi-path, unwanted "echoes" in wireless transmissions, which
severely reduces range and lowers transmission speeds. The Libertas chipsets
have up to a four times better multi-path tolerance than current competing
solutions. Furthermore, the Marvell Libertas solutions incorporate the
industry's highest receive sensitivity and highest on-chip, power amplifier (PA)
output at 20dBm at the antenna connector. As a result, the Libertas chipsets
easily offer twice the distance of competing solutions.
"Our goal was to deliver breakthrough technology that solved critical issues,
such as increasing range and enhancing security, for our customers' wide range
of applications," stated Weili Dai, Marvell's Executive Vice President and
General Manager for the Communications Business Group. "The challenges our
customers have with current competing solutions can only be overcome with the
Marvell Libertas 802.11b solutions. With our technology, our customers can
confidently build secure and reliable Wireless LAN products. In addition, our
high level of integration will enable our customers to build very cost-effective
solutions for the mass deployment of Wireless LAN into the enterprise, home,
public 'hot spot,' and other emerging markets," added Ms. Dai.
"In addition to extending range performance, the Marvell Libertas solutions
include additional advanced features that provide enhanced capabilities for
Wireless LAN systems," stated Lawrence Tse, Marvell's Vice President of Wireless
Engineering for the Communications Business Group. "Marvell has incorporated
auto-programmability with our on-chip power amplifier to provide better power
management and extended battery life. We have also optimized our
industry-leading DSP technology to provide more interference immunity to
co-channel 802.11b interference, allowing for increased speeds and 'worry-free'
functionality in realistic Wireless LAN deployment scenarios. Last, we have
dedicated hardware to perform advanced IEEE AES encryption, providing the
industry with the most secure Wireless LAN connections."
In addition to client and access point chipset offerings, Marvell also provides
complete hardware and software reference designs to accelerate customers'
time-to-market. "Our complete reference designs make it easy for our customers
to implement Wireless LANs as a `must have' capability in various market
segments," stated Dr. James Chen, Wireless Product Marketing Manager for the
Communications Business Group. "To this end, we are excited to announce
reference designs such as embedded Mini PCI for laptops, PC Cards for retail
markets and Compact Flash for PDA applications. Tying all of these clients
together will be our Access Point reference designs which will allow APs to be
deployed more cost-effectively and more densely than ever before."
Libertas 802.11b Client Chipset Solution
For client applications, the Marvell Libertas chipset solution comprises the
88W8000 RF transceiver and the 88W8300 baseband processor/MAC, and includes the
following features:
-- On-chip PA with near +20dBm output power at the antenna port,
low noise amplifier (LNA), variable gain amplifier (VGA),
voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), programmable frequency
synthesizer, and RF up/down converters (mixers)
-- Packet-based antenna diversity
-- On-chip MAC supports 802.11b standard data rates (1, 2, 5.5,
and 11 Mbps) and Marvell proprietary 22 Mbps High Data Rate
mode
-- Hardware security engine for WEP and AES encryption and
decryption
-- Low speed interfaces include: GPIO, UART, SPI, MicroWire, and
Serial EEPROM
-- Embedded ARM core with on-chip SRAM memory for low power
operation
-- Host interfaces include: 16-bit PCMCIA, PCI, Mini PCI, 32-bit
Cardbus, USB 1.1, and Compact Flash
-- Reference designs will include software drivers for Windows(R)
XP, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows 98SE, and Windows CE.Net
Libertas 802.11b Access Point Chipset Solution
For access points, the Marvell Libertas chipset solution comprises the 88W8000
RF transceiver and the 88W8500 Access Point chip. It offers most of the above
features plus the following:
-- Replaces host interfaces with user selectable MII or PCI
external interface for Home Wireless Gateway designs
-- Integrated 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet MAC and PHY with Virtual
Cable Tester(TM) (VCT) technology to diagnose cabling and
connection faults
-- Embedded ARM core with on-chip Instruction and Data cache
memory
-- Supports up to 256Mb external SDRAM and FLASH memory
-- HW filtering of MAC addresses o Supports TCP/IP, DHCP and SNMP
for Access Point (AP) operation o Supports 802.1x secure port
protocol for advance security authentication
-- Reference designs will include uCLinux software for Access
Point functionality and simple networking functions
Availability
The Marvell Libertas 88W8000 RF chip and the 88W8300/88W8500 baseband and MAC
processor/Access Point chips are now sampling.
About Marvell
Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL), a technology leader in the development of extreme
broadband system-level IC solutions for Internet connectivity and
infrastructure, comprises Marvell Technology Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries,
including Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. (MSI), Marvell Asia Pte Ltd. (MAPL),
Marvell Japan K.K., Marvell Taiwan Ltd., Marvell International Ltd. (MIL),
Galileo Technology Ltd. (GTL) and SysKonnect GmbH. On behalf of MIL, MSI
designs, develops and markets integrated circuits utilizing proprietary
Communications Mixed-Signal Processing (CMSP) and digital signal processing
technologies for communications signal processing markets. MAPL is headquartered
in Singapore and is responsible for production, distribution and design
operations. GTL develops high-performance communications Internetworking and
Switching products for the broadband communications market. As used in this
release, the terms "Company" and "Marvell" refer to the entire group of
companies. The Company applies its technology to the extreme broadband
communications market where its products are used in network access equipment to
provide the interface between communications systems and data transmission
media. MSI is headquartered at 645 Almanor Ave., Sunnyvale, Calif., 94085;
phone: 408/222-2500, fax: 408/328-0120. Marvell's common stock is traded on the
NASDAQ under the symbol MRVL. More information on Marvell is available on the
Internet at www.marvell.com.
Safe Harbor Statement of Marvell under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995: This release contains forward-looking statements based on
projections about our products, our markets, our beliefs, and our assumptions.
Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks,"
"estimates," "may," "will," "should," and their variations identify
forward-looking statements. Statements that refer to, or are based on
projections, uncertain events or assumptions are forward-looking statements.
These statements are not guarantees of results and are subject to risks and
uncertainties. Market results may differ materially and adversely. Some risks
and uncertainties that may cause a difference for the commercial activities
highlighted in this release include, but are not limited to, the timing, cost
and successful completion of product development, volume production,
end-customer adoption, end-customer qualification, and the timing, pricing,
rescheduling, or cancellation of significant customer orders.
For other factors that could cause Marvell's results to vary from expectations,
please see the sections titled "Additional Factors That May Affect Future
Results" in Marvell's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended February 2,
2002 and Marvell's subsequent reports on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation
to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.
Marvell(R), the Marvell logo, Libertas, and Virtual Cable Tester are trademarks
of Marvell. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Marvell Semiconductor, Inc.
Kathryn Gentry, 408/222-2500 (Corporate Communications)
kathy@marvell.com
James Chen, 408/222-2500 (Product Marketing Manager)
jamesc@marvell.com
URL: http://www.businesswire.com
Today's News On The Net - Business Wire's full file on the Internet
with Hyperlinks to your home page.
Copyright (C) 2002 Business Wire. All rights reserved.
