3Com Corp. is catching up in the wireless LAN space with new high-speed products and venture funding for a startup wireless company.

The company next week will start shipping the AirConnect Wireless LAN. Based on the 802.11b standard, which uses direct sequence connections, AirConnect performs at speeds of up to 11M bps. AirConnect comprises access points and notebook PC Cards. Each access point can support as many as 63 wireless PCs. Each PC Card costs $219, while the access points cost $1,195. A starter kit, which consists of three PC Cards and an access point, is $1,795. An AirConnect PCI card for desktop PCs will be available in the spring, officials said. 3Com_s wireless LAN products are based largely on technology licensed from Symbol Technologies Inc. On the funding front, 3Com this week gave $5.5 million in venture funding to No Wires Needed. The company's core technology is its MAC (media access control) software, an operating system of sorts that enables users to add new features to wireless LANs without extra hardware. No Wires Needed is starting to make a name for itself in the United States. The company, based in Bilthoven, the Netherlands, is the OEM for wireless LAN hardware that Compaq Computer Corp. sells. No Wires Needed is also hammering out deals with several other U.S. companies, according to sources close to the company. One upcoming feature for No Wires Needed_s MAC software, due this year, will enable wireless LAN PC Cards to communicate with one another at short range -- in conference rooms or in airplanes -- without the need for access points. This feature is similar to Bluetooth in that it does not require a direct line of sight, but at 11M bps, it will be 11 times faster than Bluetooth.