Broadcom Set To Gain Market Share
Techdirt has covered the 802.11a vs. 802.11g issue before. This is one ‘versus’ battle that actually exits, and we’ve looked specifically at the politics and chipmaker gambles that overshadowed technological considerations. Some chipmakers bet the farm on ‘a’ (Atheros, Intersil) and are now playing catchup, and others hung their hats on ‘g’, and are now reaping rewards. A recent Unstrung article discusses how Broadcom bet on ‘g’ early, and stands to take a larger share of the rewards. Remember, though, ‘a’ is not a throwaway technology: There are specific niches where ‘a’ is more suitable than ‘g’. These are networks where there is a high density of users (ex: classrooms) with high bandwidth requirements (ex: interactive CAD), or places where more than 3 networks need to operate overlaid. Am I biased? Maybe, but I picked the right horse: see the g white-paper I wrote for Broadcom in 2002.
Comments on “Broadcom Set To Gain Market Share”
Atheros hardly playing "g" "ketchup" 2Broadcom
Derek,
Atheros hardly bet the farm on 802.11a nor are they playing catch-up on 802.11g. They have the only current tri-mode (a,b,g) chip. And unlike the early-to-market Broadcom which needs to upgrade to meet the adopted specs, Atheros chips are already compliant.
-b-
Definition of Catch-Up
Yes, but how long have they had those a,b,g chips?