Cirronet Delivers First 802.11b-Friendly FHSS Wireless Products

New product feature solves RF interference problem

SAN JOSE, Calif. (February 24, 2003)—Cirronet™ Inc., a leading provider of wireless transceivers and broadband Internet products, today announced immediate availability of “802.11b-friendly” 2.4 GHz transmission products using frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) technology. Cirronet is the first manufacturer to deliver FHSS-based 2.4 GHz products specifically designed to avoid interfering with 802.11b networks operating in that band.

With the new product feature, wireless networks employing Cirronet’s FHSS technology can operate simultaneously with 802.11b stations transmitting nearby. FHSS is used to provide long range, high-speed wireless connectivity in environments ordinarily considered too hostile for radio communications. However, due to FHSS' propensity to interfere with short-range 802.11b networks operating nearby, plant managers and IT professionals have refused to deploy FHSS systems.

“With this engineering advance, Cirronet enables OEMs, resellers and systems integrators to specify the right wireless technology for each application, regardless of what else is transmitting in the 2.4 GHz band,” said Tim Cutler, Cirronet’s vice president of sales and marketing. “Wireless users can now get the superior performance of frequency hopping radio technology in factories, industrial sites and commercial settings where 802.11b networks are already in place.”

New Product Feature Solves Dilemma for Wireless Network Designers

In the license-free 2.4 GHz band, users of competing RF technologies are not required to coordinate transmissions. As a result, signals of FHSS products and 802.11b products, which employ direct sequence spread spectrum, often collide. 802.11b devices do not operate satisfactorily when FHSS is present in the same vicinity. For its 2.4 GHz products, Cirronet solved the problem by adding a programmable ability to skip over the frequencies used for 802.11b channels.

About Cirronet

Atlanta-based Cirronet has well over a decade of success in developing innovative wireless data networking and communications products for industrial, OEM and Internet access markets. Employing proprietary frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) radio transmission technology, the company’s products offer reliable, long range performance and unparalleled immunity against jamming and interference. Cirronet products are FCC and ETSI certified and operate in license-free ISM bands. For more information, visit www.cirronet.com.

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