General Instrument Introduces External SURFboard Cable Modem
16:36 Dec 11, 1996 EST
ANAHEIM, Calif., Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- General Instrument Corporation (NYSE: GIC) announced today the expansion of its SURFboard(TM) network product to include an external unit, the SURFboard SB1100 external cable modem. Expected to debut during the second quarter of 1997, the SB1100 will be priced at under $400. A unit will be available for viewing in GI's booth at the Western Cable Show this week in Anaheim, California.
The SURFboard SB1100 cable modem is a stand-alone device which will connect to an Ethernet card in virtually any computer, including a personal computer (PC), Macintosh(R) or laptop. With this external cable modem, a single unit will simultaneously support multiple users.
The SB1100 follows the introduction of the SB1000, a low-cost, internal ISA card which fits into a user's PC. Both SURFboard modems operate with a computer to provide the user with high speed access to the Internet and multimedia services over the cable TV network at a transport rate of up to 27 Mbps. The existing SURFboard network platform supports both the SB1100 and SB1000.
"With the introduction of the SB1100, General Instrument can now offer network operators a full complement of cable down/telephone return
products for the delivery of high-speed data services to their subscribers." Said Geoffrey S. Roman, Senior Vice President and General Instrument's Telecom Systems group. "Earlier this year, we successfully launched the low-cost, internal SURFboard SB1000 cable modem, which has been very well received in the marketplace. The development of the SB1100 is part of our strategy to develop a line of cable modems to meet a variety of end-user and operator requirements."
GI rolled out its high-speed SURFboard SB1000 cable and associated network in August 1996 and is in the process of installing systems throughout the world. Cable and wireless operators can deploy the SURFboard network immediately, without upgrading their systems, to deliver speeds that are hundreds of times faster than today's fastest telephone modems.
GI designed the SURFboard systems to utilize the same 64 QAM technology as GI's digital television system. Earlier this month, this 64 QAM system was selected by the North American cable TV industry, through CableLab, for the delivery of digital services over cable. In addition, by using the Ethernet 10baseT interface, the SURFboard SB1100 follows the data over cable specifications of MCNS, a partnership of cable operators, for interfacing to end-user devices.
General Instrument Corporation is a world leader in developing technology, systems and product solutions for the interactive delivery of video, voice and data, as well as in manufacturing and distributing discrete semiconductors.
Visit General Instrument on the World Wide Web at: gi.com.
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