Intersil Announces New Driver Software to Support Wi-Fi Connectivity to Microsoft Windows XP

PRISM Technology On Target With Microsoft's Launch of Windows XP Operating System

October 25, 2001

Intersil Corporation (Nasdaq:ISIL), the world's leading provider of silicon technology for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), today announced the availability of Microsoft Windows XP drivers for wireless networking products based on its PRISM(R) WLAN technology. Intersil will release source code and distribution licensing to its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers for driver software coinciding with the market launch of the Windows XP operating system.

Intersil's new driver supports Microsoft's initiative to make WLANs a secure, high-performance and easy-to-use networking medium using 802.1x. The IEEE 802.1x standard provides authenticated network access and the automatic distribution of encryption keys, a feature not currently supported in the existing Wi-Fi (802.11b) standard. The new drivers also comply with Microsoft's NDIS 5.1 specification that will allow Intersil's OEM customers to easily achieve Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) certification for forthcoming products.

"Microsoft's decision to support Wi-Fi by adding new security enhancements and ease-of-use features into the Windows XP operating system will further fuel the growing momentum of 802.11b and validates Wi-Fi as the predominate wireless networking technology," said Larry Ciaccia, vice president and general manager for Intersil's Wireless Networking Business. "We're eager to support Microsoft by providing our customers with a complete driver solution that will work with all existing Microsoft operating system platforms, including Windows XP."

The release of Windows XP drivers gives Intersil a complete portfolio of driver software for Microsoft operating systems, including Windows XP, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows NT Workstation 4.0, Windows 98 and Windows CE. Furthermore, Intersil's drivers support all existing generations of PRISM chip sets -including PRISM II, PRISM 2.5 and PRISM 3 - in a variety of form factors, such as PCMCIA, mini-PCI and USB modules.

The advanced Zero Configuration Feature of Windows XP not only eases the installation of wireless adapters, it also allows the operating system to search and recognize the presence of wireless "hot spots" that are being rapidly deployed in airports, hotels, cafes and other public spaces. When a user plugs a PRISM-based wireless adapter into their PC or notebook, the Windows XP operating system will automatically search for the network and achieve connectivity with little or no user intervention.

The new 802.1x security enhancements and zero configuration features are a perfect complement to Intersil's PRISM WLAN portfolio of Wi-Fi chip sets. PRISM chip sets deliver an 11 megabit-per-second (Mbps) data rate and can be used to produce products that are fully Wi-Fi compliant. PRISM-based systems are feature-rich and provide fast, reliable performance in all types of networking environments. Advanced design and process technologies reduce power consumption, design complexity and total system cost. Wi-Fi technology offered by Intersil includes reference designs, evaluation kits, firmware and software in addition to the highly integrated silicon.


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