Broadcom WLAN chipset supports 802.11a, 802.11b

Broadcom Corp. has announced the release of a WLAN chipsetcomprised of the BCM4309 MAC IC, BCM2050 2.4GHz radio IC, and BCM2060 5GHz radio ICthat supports the existing 802.11b WiFi standard, and is forward-compatible with the next-generation 802.11a WiFi5 standard.

With a built-in context-switching functionality, the BCM4309 dynamically selects the best performance available at either 2.4GHz or 5GHz. This allows users to simultaneously make both a network connection and an ad-hoc user connection, to bond channels for higher throughput or to dedicate voice on one channel and data on another.

The BCM4309 also includes a V.92 voiceband modem and a glueless interface that connects to the company's family of Bluetooth products and forthcoming chips for GPRS mobile communications.

It also incorporates hardware support for WEP and AES, and system support for the leading security protocols, TKIP and 802.1x. The software can also be upgraded to the forthcoming 802.11i security standard.

Broadcom's driver software is compatible with Microsoft's Zero-Configuration driver for WLANs, with added diagnostic capability for XP users, and a common look and feel for legacy Microsoft OS.

Samples of the BCM94309MP mini-PCI reference design using the BCM4309, BCM2050 and BCM2060 are currently shipping. The company also announced that it will also be shipping PCI, Cardbus, and 16-bit PC Card reference designs.