BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 7, 1998--Aware, Inc. today
announced a licensing and development agreement with Lucent
Technologies Microelectronics Group for a new type of Digital
Subscriber Line (DSL) technology that Lucent will incorporate into its
DSL chip sets.
Under the agreement, Aware will provide Lucent with its DSL-Lite
DMT (discrete multitone) technology, which eliminates the need for a
voice-data splitter on the customer's side of the connection. This
means a service provider can offer this technology to consumers
without having to send a technician to customers' homes to install new
wiring and a splitter. Financial terms of the agreement were not
disclosed.
Lucent will manufacture a chip set incorporating the Aware
technology. Lucent plans to begin shipping sample chip sets
incorporating technology and software from Aware in the third quarter
of 1998. The chip set will be part of Lucent's WildWire(tm) offering.
"Aware is a pioneer in splitterless DSL technology," said Bob
Rango, general manager of modem and multimedia market development for
Lucent's Microelectronics Group. "That's why Lucent chose to
incorporate Aware technology into its DSL-Lite products."
WildWire will offer consumers high-speed Internet access over
ordinary telephone lines and will be as convenient to install in PCs
as analog modems are today. It eliminates the need for additional
equipment or modified wiring at the customer's home, and users will be
able to download information from the Internet and simultaneously hold
a telephone conversation over the same wire that now brings voice
service to their home. With download speeds of up to 1.5 Mbps(a),
WildWire is nearly 30 times faster than today's fastest analog modems.
DSL technology converts analog telephone lines into digital lines
by adding a line-interface device in the telephone company's central
office and a DSL modem at the subscriber's home. Customers must also
subscribe to DSL service from their telephone service provider.
"Aware is pleased to be working with Lucent to create the
infrastructure that will usher in a new era of high-speed consumer
Internet access," said Jim Bender, president and chief executive
office of Aware.
The Aware DSL technology will be consistent with an industry
standard being developed by the Universal ADSL Working Group (UAWG), a
consortium of leaders from the PC, networking and telecommunications
industries. Lucent and Aware are both members of the UAWG, which plans
to propose a standard later this year for a simplified version of
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) technology that will deliver
to consumers high-speed modem communications over standard phone
lines. |
