Advanced wireless LAN (WLAN) chipsets supplier Atheros Communications, Inc. announced that two of its WLAN reference designs have been Wi-Fi-certified for Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Atheros’ dual-band access point and Universal 802.11a/b/g wireless network adapter reference designs have also been chosen for inclusion in the WMM certification test bed. WMM is the Wi-Fi Alliance’s new program that is based on a subset of the 802.11e standard, which provides Quality of Service (QoS) for wireless networks.
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“WMM is a core technology for interoperable QoS and support for enhanced multimedia capabilities. Organizations like Atheros that support this initiative are clearly committed to standards that benefit the industry. We look forward to their support in further deploying WMM solutions,” said Wi-Fi Alliance managing director, Frank Hanzlik. Atheros’ 802.11a/b/g client and access point reference designs will be used to test 802.11b, 802.11b/g, or 802.11a/b/g products that are submitted for certification of WMM. The Wi-Fi Alliance will indicate which products pass the interoperability tests. Wi-Fi-certified for WMM products ensure the ability to support high-bandwidth video, voice and data applications on the same wireless network. Additionally, these products transparently optimize the way shared network resources are allocated among two or more competing applications.

“We believe the Wi-Fi Alliance is laying an important foundation for the wireless industry to ensure QoS interoperability between different vendors’ products,” said Colin Macnab, vice president of marketing and business development of Atheros Communications. “By certifying products, the Wi-Fi Alliance will help people find wireless products that offer interoperable capabilities for audio and video delivery. Atheros fully supports the latest QoS features and the company will continue to innovate in areas that help us to deliver a better wireless user experience.