Intersil's PRISM 2.5 Chip Set Enables Z-Com's Wi-Fi Certified CF Card

LANEscape XI-825 is World's First Compact Flash Card to Receive Wi-Fi Certification

January 8, 2002

Intersil Corporation (Nasdaq:ISIL), the world's leading provider of silicon technology for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), today announced that Z-Com, Inc., has integrated the PRISM(R) 2.5 chip set into the world's first IEEE 802.11b-compliant Compact Flash(R) Type II WLAN card to receive Wi-Fi certification from the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA), whose Wi-Fi brand is a mark of compatibility for 802.11-based systems.

"Z-Com's new LANEscape(TM) XI-825 Compact Flash (CF) WLAN card enables 11 megabits-per-second (Mbps) wireless networking in Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) and other compact electronic devices," said Larry Ciaccia, vice president and general manager for Intersil's Wireless Networking Business. "Utilizing Intersil's PRISM 2.5 chip set, Z-Com was able to create a very small compact flash card designed for Wi-Fi Pocket PC and PDAs users to connect to the Internet or corporate network."

The new PRISM-based CF card supports various PDA and portable platforms and is available with Windows CE 3.0 drivers. The XI-825 supports Microsoft Windows CE 3.0, Pocket PC 2002, ME, 95, 98 and 2000 operating systems. The small CF form factor provides portable users complete mobility while maintaining connectivity to a wired network via an access point. The CF card operates in the 2.4 GHz Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM) band at the IEEE 802.11b-compliant high-data-rate speed of 11 Mbps and is downward compatible with older 5.5, 2 and 1 Mbps systems.

"Intersil's PRISM 2.5 chip set provided the perfect architecture for Z-Com to develop our LANEscape Compact Flash WLAN Card," said Don Chu, executive vice president at Z-Com. "Wi-Fi certification guarantees consumers that our PRISM-based CF card is completely interoperable with other Wi-Fi certified 802.11b products."

Intersil's PRISM 2.5 wireless networking chip set is optimized for smaller form factors and embedded WLAN applications such as mini-PCI, USB or Compact Flash that are much smaller and are typically installed directly into the system during product assembly. PRISM 2.5 delivers wireless Ethernet networking with compliance to the Wi-Fi (IEEE's 802.11b) global standard. Optimized for high data rate (11 Mbps) performance, 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. PRISM 2.5-based products will provide users with wireless access to networks and the Internet for fast and efficient transmission of data, video and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.

The Global Wireless Market Embraces PRISM WLAN Technology

"Intersil is the number one manufacturer of wireless LAN chipsets and has been a driving force behind the success of WLANs," said a May 2001 WLAN report from Cahners In-Stat Group. Since introducing the PRISM WLAN chip set in 1996, industry-leading companies including Actiontec, Alcatel, ASUS, Casio, Cisco, Compaq, 3Com, Dell, D-Link, GemTek, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Intel, Legend, Linksys, Nokia, Nortel, Panasonic, Quanta, Samsung, Sharp, Siemens, SOHOware, Sony, SpectraLink, Symbol, Z-Com and Zoom have incorporated PRISM chips in WLAN product designs. PRISM technology is designed to comply with the IEEE's 802.11 global standard, and Intersil is a founding sponsor of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA), whose Wi-Fi brand is a mark of compatibility for 802.11-based systems.


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