Here is a layman's version of BRCM's announcement with TUTS:
Broadcom, Tut Systems leading way to 'smart home'
By Scott Hillis
LOS ANGELES, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Data networking companies Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq:BRCM - news) and Tut Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:TUTS - news) on Monday unveiled a technology they said would bring such far-out devices as the interactive toaster one step closer to reality.
The new technology allows data to race over common copper telephone wires at previously unattainable speeds, enabling users to plug their computers, televisions, stereos and other devices into a single network.
Irvine, Calif.-based Broadcom, a leading producer of chips that power cable television boxes, said it would soon roll out a line of products to tap the burgeoning market for high-speed home networks.
''Rather than shifting away from cable, we are expanding the characteristics we have,'' Broadcom Chief Executive Officer Henry Nicholas told Reuters in an interview.
For Tut Systems, based in Pleasant Hill, Calif., it was the company's first major product announcement since its highly successful initial public offering last week that saw its share price triple.
Tut Systems has been a leader in finding ways to speed data over traditionally clunky telephone wires. With the new technology, users could create home networks that connect appliances through standard telephone jacks, avoiding the use of cumbersome external cables between machines, Nicholas said.
Data would stream through the networks at speeds of 10 megabits per second -- 10 times faster than the current industry standard, Nicholas said.
Upcoming versions of the technology to be launched within the next year would be improved to run at a breezy 60 megabits per second, the pace demanded by high-definition television and videoconferencing.
While most initial users would wire PCs to other computers or to televisions, houses could eventually boast such luxuries as programmable toasters or smart lighting, Nicholas said.
''This will be integrated into the 'smart home' concept,'' Nicholas said.
''No matter where a person is, at home or on the road, he can receive broadband'' high-speed transmissions, he said.
Nicholas cited industry analysts as saying up to 30 million devices would be jacked into home networks by 2002, compared with just tens of thousands now.
That translated into a $1.5 billion market, he said. Broadcom shares fell $3 on Monday to $128 in Nasdaq trade while Tut Systems gained $2.50 to end at $62.50.
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