Broadcom Accuses Atheros Of WiFi Pollution

eggboard writes "We just posted a story at PC World about 802.11g chipmaker Broadcom's claims that the high-speed 108 Mbps mode available in rival Atheros's AR5004G chipset disrupts all nearby Wi-Fi networks. The Turbo mode, part of Atheros Super G, uses two Wi-Fi channels (5 and 6) to double bandwidth, but Broadcom says this can lead to 'an enormous degradation in the speed of nearby 802.11b and 802.11g networks.'. D-Link and NetGear are shipping Super G-based devices. If Broadcom is right, Atheros gear would pollute neighbors' networks. If wrong, they're putting out a pretty heavy marketing smokescreen just before Comdex - where Broadcom says they'll be demonstrating the Atheros problem."

Comments

Guilty Party

[xwred1]

I'd be inclined to side with Atheros if only because I hate Broadcom. Atheros actually makes effort to get their chipsets supported on OSS operating systems, Broadcom does not.

Re:Guilty Party

[October_30th]

I'd be inclined to side with Atheros if only because I hate Broadcom. Atheros actually makes effort to get their chipsets supported on OSS operating systems, Broadcom does not.

Ok. That's just silly.

I'm still amazed at how naive some OSS people are when it comes to business. Intel, 3Com and the big, high-end manufacturers have the money and resources to dabble with fringe operating systems (at loss I might add). I'm sure Broadcom would love to produce OSS drivers if there was a financial incentive to it.

Atheros Linux driver

[bersl2]

here.

For the sake of relevancy.

Also, almost everything is GPL'ed. So: Atheros == good && Broadcom == bad;

Re:At least we'll know

[NightSpots]

Look how selfish you are...

They're disrupting neighboring channels but you don't care, because you have your open drivers. Bravo.

What's next, defending Stallman when he starts butchering kittens on the sidewalk? At least we have an open C compiler, right?