Atheros

Atheros Communications, Inc.
Company type	Public (until 2011)
Industry	Semiconductor, Networking hardware
Predecessor	T-Span Systems
Founded	1998; 28 years ago
Founder	Teresa H. Meng, John L. Hennessy
Defunct	2011
Fate	Acquired by Qualcomm
Successor	Qualcomm Atheros
Headquarters	San Jose, California, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Craig H. Barratt (CEO from 2003)
Products	Network communication integrated circuits, wireless chipsets, WLAN chipsets, powerline communication chipsets, Bluetooth chipsets, Ethernet interfaces
Number of employees	170 (circa 2004 IPO)
Parent	Qualcomm (from 2011)

Atheros Communications, Inc. was a semiconductor firm based in the United States, operating from 1998 until 2011, with a focus on network communication integrated circuits, especially wireless chipsets. Initially established as T-Span Systems in 1998 by experts in signal processing and VLSI from Stanford University and UC Berkeley, the enterprise adopted the name Atheros Communications in 2000. It became publicly traded in February 2004 on NASDAQ under the ticker ATHR.

Qualcomm announced its intention to acquire Atheros on January 5, 2011, for $3.7 billion, completing the transaction on May 24, 2011. Following this, Atheros continued as Qualcomm Atheros. The chipsets produced by Qualcomm Atheros for IEEE 802.11 wireless networking are integrated into devices from over 30 manufacturers.

History

The company was co-founded in 1998 by Teresa H. Meng, a Stanford engineering professor, along with John L. Hennessy, then provost of Stanford. Starting out in a converted residential property in Palo Alto, T-Span Systems later moved to larger facilities in Palo Alto and Sunnyvale. After rebranding to Atheros Communications in 2000, the company launched the first CMOS-based WLAN chipset capable of supporting high-speed 802.11a operation at 5 GHz.

By 2002, Atheros had developed a dual-band wireless device (AR5001X 802.11a/b). Craig H. Barratt joined as vice president that year and was promoted to CEO in 2003. That same year marked shipment of the company’s ten-millionth wireless chip and introduction of products including the pioneering video chipset that enabled mainstream HDTV-quality wireless transmission.

A key achievement came in 2004 with the release of the Super-G compression protocol, which doubled the throughput of 802.11g networks and significantly increased both sales volume and market penetration. In 2005, Atheros introduced the industry’s first WLAN chipset supporting MIMO technology and expanded its product range to include mobile handset chipsets under the ROCm series.

The XSPAN lineup was launched in 2006, featuring a triple-radio single-chip solution for 802.11n, while collaboration with Qualcomm began on CDMA/WCDMA handset components. By 2008, Atheros had rolled out the Align series of single-stream 802.11n products tailored for personal computers and networking devices.

Reaching further milestones by 2010, Atheros had shipped its 500-millionth WLAN chipset along with its 100-millionth Align chipset model. That year also saw the introduction of the first HomePlug AV chipset delivering a physical layer rate of 500 Mbit/s, reinforcing its position as a leader in hybrid wired and wireless communication technologies.

IPO

On February 12, 2004, Atheros completed its initial public offering on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol ATHR. The shares were initially priced at $14 with an offering size of nine million shares, peaking at $18.45 on opening day and closing at $17.60. At this point, the company employed roughly 170 staff members.

Acquisition by Qualcomm

In January 2011, Qualcomm reached an agreement to purchase Atheros for $45 per share in cash, subject to regulatory clearance. The acquisition concluded in May 2011 for $3.7 billion, after which Atheros became a subsidiary operating as Qualcomm Atheros.

Following the acquisition, Qualcomm Atheros launched the WCN3660 Combo Chip integrating dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and FM radio functionality within Snapdragon processors. It also introduced Skifta, a media shifting application for Android devices, alongside debuting the first HomePlug Green PHY powerline communication product.

At CES in 2012, Qualcomm Atheros presented a Wi-Fi display solution and released a new chipset designed for HomePlug AV networking applications. During Mobile World Congress that year, it showcased an array of 802.11ac products including the WCN3680 mobile combo chip aimed at smartphones and tablets; further additions to its 802.11ac portfolio were unveiled later at Computex.

In 2015, Qualcomm Atheros launched the QCA9531 system-on-chip (SoC), an 802.11n compliant Wi-Fi SoC operating at 2x2 MIMO on the 2.4 GHz band for WLAN platforms, supporting CPU speeds up to 650 MHz and compatible with DDR1/DDR2 memory types.

Products

WLAN – Qualcomm Atheros delivers wireless connectivity solutions, featuring Align 1-stream 802.11n chips and XSPAN 2- and 3-stream chips designed for 802.11n, capable of reaching PHY rates up to 150 Mbit/s for smartphones and portable devices. The portfolio also includes legacy models supporting 802.11a/g standards.
PAS/PHS – In 2005, Atheros introduced the AR1900, the inaugural chip that integrates a cellular transceiver, application processor, baseband functions, audio pathways, power management, and interfaces tailored for the PHS mobile network predominantly used in China, Japan, and Taiwan.
Power line communication (PLC) – As an active participant in the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, Atheros’ AR1500 series complies with the IEEE 1901 standard for powerline networking.
Ethernet – Qualcomm Atheros provides the ETHOS Ethernet interface lineup along with the energy-efficient EDGE series adhering to the IEEE 802.3az-2010 Energy Efficient Ethernet standard.
Hybrid Networking – The Hy-Fi technology combines WLAN, PLC, and Ethernet under the IEEE 1905.1 standard to improve home networking capabilities.
Location Technology – Introduced in 2012, IZat technology leverages satellite signals and WLAN networks to deliver accurate positioning services.
Bluetooth – Qualcomm Atheros manufactures Bluetooth chipsets across various platforms, including integrated combo modules that support both WLAN and Bluetooth connectivity.
PON – The company’s passive optical network technologies conform to standards such as IEEE 802.3ah EPON and feature software-based digital signal processing compatible with VoIP protocols G.711 and G.729, as well as TR-156 Broadband Forum PON specifications.

Acquisitions

CodeTelligence – Developer of SDIO software and firmware, acquired in 2005.
ZyDAS Technology – Taiwan-based USB Wireless LAN firm acquired in 2006.
Attansic Technology – Manufacturer of Fast and Gigabit Ethernet chips headquartered in Taiwan, acquired in early 2007.
u-Nav Microelectronics – GPS chipset producer located in Irvine, California, acquired in 2007.
Intellon Corporation – Publicly traded company specializing in powerline communication (PLC) technologies for home networking and smart grid applications, acquired in late 2009.
Opulan Technology Corp – Developer of EPON broadband access solutions based in Shanghai, China, acquired in August 2010.
Bigfoot Networks – Austin, Texas-based company offering application-aware networking technologies branded as StreamBoost, acquired in September 2011.
Ubicom – Known for processors and software optimizing network data flow, acquired in February 2012.
DesignArt – Small cell chipset firm integrating multiple radio technologies on a single chip for wireless backhaul applications, acquired in August 2012.
Wilocity – Fabless semiconductor company focused on IEEE 802.11ad (60 GHz) technology, purchased in July 2014.

Free and open-source software support

Initial Linux and FreeBSD support for Atheros hardware was based on the community-driven MadWifi project developed by Sam Leffler and later maintained by Greg Chesson. MadWifi eventually evolved into ath5k. In July 2008, Atheros released ath9k—an open-source Linux driver for their 802.11n devices—and contributed source code under the ISC license to support their abg chipsets. The company continues to actively maintain ath9k within Linux while also supplying documentation to FreeBSD for supporting their 802.11n chipsets.

The open nature of the ath9k driver has made it a significant platform for Wi-Fi innovation efforts such as Make-Wifi-Fast’s radio fairness experiments. Additionally, radio enthusiasts have adapted it to operate within licensed frequency bands.

The article comparison of open-source wireless drivers catalogs free drivers compatible with Qualcomm Atheros IEEE 802.11 chipsets; however, newer Atheros wireless cards (supporting 802.11ac and 802.11ax) require proprietary binary firmware unlike most earlier models.

Atheros has been acknowledged within OpenBSD’s initiatives aimed at replacing non-free hardware components with open alternatives, underscoring its contribution to open-source wireless development.

External links