NEW 802.11 CHIPS ALREADY AVAILABLE

By K.C.Bishoppe

With the passage of the new 802.11n standard, the door swung open for the manufacture and distribution of new chips that include features of the new standard.

Wi-Fi chip manufacturer Atheros has already launched a new family of chips which includes at least some of the new enhanced standard features.

As the 802.11n supporting chips become available, it's anticipated that 802.11abg products will start disappearing from vendor inventories.

While most products on the market today run two spatial streams regardless of the number of transmit and receive antennas in their access points, the Altheros AR9300 chips support the Transmit Beamforming (TxBF) and Low Density Parity Check (LPDC) options from 802.11n.

As long as both transmitter and receiver participant in the calibration process, TxBF will lock time and phase of a wireless signal together and boost signal reception.