3Com announcement:
Wednesday December 3, 12:41 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Analog Devices, Inc.
Analog Devices To Provide DSP For 3Com 56k Modems - Integrated DSP &
mixed-signal solution enables modem system-on-a-chip -
NORWOOD, Mass., Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) today announced that 3Com will use a new ADI chip which
integrates all the analog and digital signal processing components of a 56K modem. This single-chip solution is a custom design for
3Com (Nasdaq: COMS - news), the world's leading modem maker.
Today's U.S. Robotics(R) modems require five discrete integrated circuits (ICs). ADI will integrate these chips onto a single silicon
die -- in essence, a 56K modem-on-a-chip. ADI's expertise in mixed-signal and DSP integration will enable 3Com to produce a modem
that consumes less power than currently available designs. The IC will include 3Com's x2(TM) 56K* technology, which provides high
speed downloads from over 1200 Internet Service Providers offering x2 service worldwide.
With this development, 3Com includes ADI as one of its suppliers for designing and manufacturing digital signal processors (DSPs)
customized for high-speed modem applications.
''Analog Devices provides 3Com with a valuable supplier for integrated DSPs,'' said Jerry Devlin, vice president and general manager
of 3Com's Personal Communications Division.
''By integrating all analog and digital signal processing components onto one chip, we go to market faster, with modems that feature
lower power consumption. Additionally, this new DSP will make it easier for our products to comply with FCC regulations.''
According to Will Strauss, president of Forward Concepts, a market research firm in Tempe, AZ, ''The ability to integrate an analog
front-end with a DSP is the future of many emerging high volume consumer applications. This single-chip solution for 3Com's U.S.
Robotics 56K modem clearly places ADI at the cutting edge of this technology.''
''High speed PC modems are an excellent target for an application-on-a-chip solution'' said David French, vice president and general
manager of Analog Devices' Computer Products Division. ''This relationship with 3Com is evidence that market leaders think of ADI
when the solution calls for signal processing-on-a-chip. With custom design and manufacturing services from ADI, customers like
3Com are leveraging more than 30 years of analog signal processing technology and our portfolio of successful DSP and mixed-signal
products.''
Benefits of Modem-On-A-Chip Solution
The 3Com design integrates a programmable DSP core, all requisite memory, and high-speed analog/mixed-signal circuits onto a
single chip. The programmable DSP core provides a software upgradeable platform to support evolving communications industry
standards while preserving hardware investments. Integrating all memory on-chip significantly reduces powerconsumption and board
space. In addition to power and space savings, integrating analog/mixed-signal circuitry on-chip reduces eletromagnetic interference
(EMI), making FCC compliance easier.
With sales of $1.2 billion for fiscal 1997, Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI - news) is a leading manufacturer of precision high-performance
integrated circuits used in analog and digital processing applications. Headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts, the company
employs approximately 7,500 people worldwide and has manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, Ireland,
the Philippines and Taiwan.
3Com Corporation enables individuals and organizations worldwide to communicate and share information and resources at anytime
from anywhere. As one of the world's preeminent suppliers of data, voice and video communications technology, 3Com has delivered
networking solutions to more than 100 million customers worldwide. With global reach and local touch, the company provides
enterprises, network service providers and carriers, small businesses and consumers with comprehensive, innovative information
access products and system solutions for building intelligent, reliable and high performance local and wide area networks. 3Com has
worldwide revenues of approximately $6.0 billion and employs about 13,200 employees in 45 countries. For further information, visit
3Com's world wide web site at 3com.com or the press site at 3com.com.
*All x2 products are capable of 56 Kbps downloads; however, due to FCC rules which restrict power output of your service
provider's modems, current download speeds are limited to 53 Kbps. Actual speeds may vary depending on line conditions. Uploads
from you to your provider travel at speeds up to 28.8 Kbps. An x2-capable modem, an x2-compatible local analog phone line and an
x2-capable service provider are required for these high speed downloads. See www.user.com/x2 for details.
3Com and U.S. Robotics are registered trademarks of 3Com Corporation.
x2 is a trademark of 3Com Corporation or its subsidiaries.
SOURCE: Analog Devices, Inc. |
