By Paul Festa
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
March 5, 2003, 9:00 PM PT
Wireless networking company Linksys on Wednesday released a PC card that supports two nascent Wi-Fi standards.
Linksys's Wireless Dual Band A+G Wireless PC Card for notebook computers supports not only 802.11b--the prevailing IEEE standard for wireless networking--but its newer cousins 802.11a, which sacrifices bandwidth for range, and 802.11g, which is supposed to be backward-compatible with 802.11b.
Linksys, based in Irvine, Calif., is not alone in producing an 802.11a/g-compatible card. Hardware maker NetGear last month announced it would soon ship dual-band 802.11a/g PC cards for $129, with dual-band 802.11a/g access points and routers to follow next quarter.
Linksys announced some future plans of its own, saying this month it would release a wireless A+G router, access point and PCI adapter for desktop computers.
The new PC cards carry a $99 price tag.
In a statement, Linksys compared its March contributions to the introduction of the AM/FM radio.
"With its universal dual-band A+G solutions, Linksys eliminates once and for all any potential confusion or incompatibilities caused by having three separate wireless standards," the company said in a release. "Like the world's first AM/FM radio, the customer will be able to buy a single device for wireless networking that guarantees universal IEEE standard compatibility."
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