According to the WLAN crystal ball, the equipment markets' future growth will be driven mainly by manufacturers in Asian countries. As they grow their influence, these manufacturers will demand partners with strong wireless-system-design experience, proven sales support, and high-performance solutions. For an example, look to the Canadian company IceFyre. Recently, it established a distribution agreement with Tokyo-based Nagase & Co. Ltd. Now, Nagase & Co. will represent IceFyre products in Japan and other Asian markets.

Through this agreement, IceFyre will gain greatly expanded sales and wireless-design engineering capabilities. It will then be able to better service the Japanese manufacturers and ODMs that are targeting the emerging WLAN-equipment markets. These markets include audio-visual (A/V) and consumer media products, PC devices, and premium infrastructure equipment.

Two new solutions from IceFyre exemplify the breakthrough performance, power consumption, and system flexibility that's required by Asian manufacturers. They are the SureFyre 802.11a and TwinFyre 802.11a/b/g chip sets.

To find out more about IceFyre's products, visit the company's website at www.icefyre.com. More information on Nagase & Co. Ltd. can be found by pointing your browser to www.nagase.co.jp/english.