"It was hoped that by now the two industry groups, WWiSE and TGn Sync, would have thrashed out a single proposal," said Philip Solis, senior analyst covering WiFi semiconductors for ABI's WiFi Research Service. "But we hear that four major companies -- Broadcom, Intel, Atheros, and Marvell, holding the lion's share of the WiFi chipset market -- have formed a third camp with the aim of writing a whole new proposal."

ABI says that some observers see this as an "offensive gambit" aimed at Airgo Networks, a small chipmaker that has been gaining ground in the consumer market. "That interpretation may have some merit," said ABI senior analyst Sam Lucero. "If these companies, which have been slower bringing spatial multiplexing to market, can change the standard proposal drastically, Airgo would be forced to a fundamental redesign."

According to ABI, this development could delay ratification of the standard until mid-2007 at the earliest.

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