News

Agere Systems Quits Standalone 802.11 Chipsets

October 13, 2004 by Jeff Shepard

Agere Systems Inc. (Allentown, PA) announced that it is pulling out of stand-alone 802.11 wireless chipsets, including silicon for the incipient 802.11n standard. The company will instead concentrate on wireless VoIP and on integrating wireless LAN into cellular chipsets.

A company spokesman said that the decision was taken in order to "better align our cost structure with current revenue expectations and to improve profitability. The unit volumes in the mobile phone market are nearly three times the volumes in the PC segment where there are extreme price pressures and increasing commoditization."

The move follows cost-cutting measures recently announced by the company, which included the shedding of 500 jobs and the closure of a development center in the Netherlands.