C|NET ran a story called, “Wi-Fi to climb aboard modems“, that describes how Wi-Fi chips for wireless home networks will seeon become integrated with broadband modems. Communications chipmaker Conexant Systems announced Tuesday that it is adding Intersil Wi-Fi chips to the semiconductors it builds for high-speed cable or DSL modems. This is clearly the next step in the evolution of Wi-Fi. Not long ago people with home LANs had (and many still do) a cable or DSL modem plus a router to make the Internet connection available to other PCs in their house plus a wireless access point to extend the connection to laptops in the backyard or wherever. Three boxes. By the end of this year it sounds like there will be one box that does it all. There are already nearly twenty million homes and offices with WiFi. The momentum will surely accelerate even beyond the current frenetic pace.