Envara today announced that it is sampling engineering silicon for its multi-mode IEEE 802.11a+b+g EN303 RF chip. The EN303 is the world's first multi-mode IEEE 802.11a+b+g on a single RF chip, offering interoperability with the dominant IEEE 802.11a and IEEE 802.11b standards as well as the emerging IEEE 802.11g draft that proposes higher data rates by employing OFDM in the 2.4GHz band. OEM's will benefit from this advanced technology that enables interoperability between the dominant WLAN standards and works over all internationally defined WLAN spectral bands, including the additional 5GHz band recently proposed in Japan around 4.95 GHz.

IEEE 802.11 a+b+g Capability Delivers Global Interoperability
Given that the transition from 2.4GHz to 5GHz systems will not be immediate interoperability is a significant feature - freeing mobile users to access necessary data in any IEEE 802.11 wireless networking environment. The EN303's multi-mode IEEE 802.11a+b+g capability promises interoperability no matter what wireless networking environment users may enter, while its coverage of all of the internationally allocated frequency spectra in both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands ensures transparent worldwide operation. ''We expect to see a great deal of interest in multi-mode WLAN chips for the foreseeable future,'' said Craig J. Mathias, Principal with the wireless advisory firm Farpoint Group. ''Customers are looking for flexibility as WLAN technology continues to evolve.''

Using Silicon Germanium Results in RF Technology Breakthrough
The small die size Silicon Germanium (SiGe) chip has demonstrated extremely good performance in its first engineering silicon samples, which is a tremendous technological achievement for Envara's expert RF professionals as well as proof of the maturity and quality to IBM's SiGe process and modeling. ''The fact that we were able to produce a high performance RF chip in a single tape out, when RFCMOS chips can require as many as 6 to 10 such efforts, is a crucial advantage in this highly dynamic and fast growing market'' commented Izik Kirshenbaum, Envara's President and CEO. Kirshenbaum also noted, ''our customers and end-users will benefit significantly from our abilities to productize radios in a timely manner, not only for this generation but also for the longer term''.

Envara is sampling chips for alpha customers, and will be demonstrating the technology in Japan and Taiwan in July and at Networld + Interop September. Allen Nogee, technology analyst with In-Stat/MDR, concluded ''while most of the market was focused on single and dual-mode WLAN solutions using multiple chips, Envara stole a march on them all with their highly integrated, multi-mode IEEE 802.11a+b+g EN303. The fact that it also features low-power consumption, small die size and advanced patent-pending technology has significantly raised the standard in the WLAN arena.''

Features of the EN303 chip:
The EN303 chip is a highly integrated WLAN solution that integrates almost all the required components onto a single chip through innovative design and advanced, patent pending technology. The minimization of external components while enhancing performance significantly reduces both chip and BOM costs for OEM customers. A brief list of the primary features and advantages offered by the EN303 include:

World's first multi-mode single RF chip for interoperable IEEE 802.11a+b+g operation.

Transparent worldwide usage in any internationally allocated frequency spectrum for these WLAN standards via coverage of all internationally allocated 2.4GHz bands and from 4.9-5.8GHz for the unlicensed 5GHz band, including the new Japanese 5GHz bands.

High level of integration for reduced BOM costs and manufacturing complexity.

Patent pending EZ-IF design for direct frequency conversion with extremely good performance.

Patent pending Zero Loss Front End design to reduce WLAN systems costs while substantially increasing receiver sensitivity by 3dB.

Self-calibration feature to minimize WLAN system testing time in production.

High fabrication yield and quality using IBM's well characterized SiGe process.

Sampling now to Alpha customers with production available in Q1 2003.

A technical brief is available on the Envara web site.

The EN303 is a unique combination of RF design and technology that enables a first of its kind, low-power, low-cost, multi-mode IEEE 802.11a+b+g, single chip solution capable of transparently operating anywhere worldwide.

Envara, Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company developing complete multi-mode Wireless Local Area Networking (WLAN) chipset solutions capable of transparently operating in all internationally allocated 2.4GHz and 5GHz WLAN frequency bands. Envara's low cost, low power, and high-performance, two-chip solution is compliant with both the IEEE 802.11a and IEEE 802.11b standards, and also supports the emerging IEEE 802.11g standard draft. The WiND502 chipset provides full data security and privacy through compatibility with the IEEE 802.11i security enhancement standard, and supports worldwide radio regulation conformance through compatibility with the IEEE 802.11h standard and enabling radio operation throughout the 4.9-5.825 GHz frequency band. Envara's highly integrated WiND502 chipset solution enables the design of very low cost WLAN network interface cards (NICs) and access points (AP's) and is targeted at the enterprise, public access (''Hot Spots''), and Home Networking markets. Envara's customers will include PC and PC-peripherals manufacturers, wireless networking ODM's, and consumer electronics manufacturers who will benefit from the ability to offer IEEE 802.11a+b+g interoperability and worldwide RF compliance, with reduced BOM costs and accelerated time to market.