2/25/98 Bus. Wire 11:08:00
Business Wire
Copyright (c) 1998, Business Wire
Wednesday, February 25, 1998
AMD Joins Universal ADSL Working Group; New Consortium Working to Deliver
Ultra-Fast Internet Access to Home
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 1998--Advanced Micro Devices
(NYSE:AMD) ("AMD") today announced that it joined the Universal Asynchronous
Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) Working Group, a consortium of personal computer
and communications leaders working to accelerate the adoption and availability
of high-speed Internet access for the mass market.
The goal of the Universal ADSL Working Group (UAWG) is to propose a
simplified version of ADSL that will deliver to consumers high-speed modem
communications over existing copper phone lines based on an open, interoperable
standard.
In the UAWG, AMD joins other PC industry leaders such as Microsoft, Compaq
and Intel, along with telecommunications leaders Ameritech, Bell Atlantic,
BellSouth, GTE, SBC Communications, Sprint, U.S. West, and a host of other
international computing and communications leaders, including Alcatel, Ascend,
Ericsson, Lucent, Nortel and Siemens.
The UAWG will work to deliver a standard for consideration by the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) this year for worldwide
deployment. Full-rate ADSL rollouts are already underway by several service
providers with the expectation that the UAWG version will enable wider
expansion within the consumer market.
"AMD intends to be a leading supplier of ADSL chip sets, and joining the UAWG
is a step toward that," said Tom Eby, vice president of marketing for AMD's
Communications Group. "With the implementation of industry standards, we can
make high-speed data over copper wire a reality for our customers. AMD will
focus on providing end-to-end solutions for in-home and wide-area networking
supported by the personal computer, networking and telecommunications
industries."
"Because AMD is a major player in both communications and computing, AMD has
the opportunity to quickly assume a leadership role in the UAWG's effort to
bring significantly faster Internet access to homes and businesses over
existing phone lines," said Bob Merritt, data communication analyst for Semico
Research Corporation. "AMD's broad understanding of all the contributing
technologies brings a significant value to the consortium during its crucial
formative stages. AMD's history of providing high-performance, low-cost
solutions in both computing and communications adds assurance that the critical
design parameters will be met."
AMD recently announced that it will begin producing ADSL chipsets based on
Alcatel's industry standard Discrete Multitone (DMT) solutions. AMD plans to
deliver these products in the second half of 1998.
About ADSL
ADSL technology maximizes the potential of existing copper telephone lines to
give access to data, video services and the Internet at speeds up to 150 times
greater than 56-kilobit-per-second modems. ADSL achieves this throughput by
carrying data traffic outside the voice band. Customers can still use their
existing analog telephones and simultaneously use the "always on" high-speed
connection to the Internet, corporate networks or multimedia services.
About UAWG
The goal of the Universal ADSL specification work is to contribute an
interoperable extension of the ANSI standard T1.413 ADSL, which will be
proposed through the ITU standardization process to gain global acceptance and
leverage current deployment of T1.413-based equipment by telecommunications
carriers around the world. The UAWG will work to drive the interoperability of
devices by sharing the working group's contributions widely and act as a forum
for resolving intellectual property issues.
About AMD
AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and
networked computer and communications markets. AMD produces processors, flash
memories, programmable logic devices, and products for communications and
networking applications. Founded in 1969 and based in Sunnyvale, California,
AMD had revenues of $2.4 billion in 1997.
NOTE TO EDITOR: Readers may obtain additional information by
calling 800/222-9323 or 408/749-5703.
AMD, the AMD logo and combinations thereof are trademarks of
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
GENERAL NOTICE: Other product names used in this publication are
for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their
respective companies.
CONTACT: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Austin Tom Kehoe, 512/602-
2292 tom.kehoe@amd.com 10:55 EST FEBRUARY 25, 1998
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