Rockwell Semiconductor Systems Partners With Tut Systems To Deliver Multi-function Home Networking Chips
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 11, 1998--
Rockwell's chips will combine Tut's HomeRun(TM) technology with
Rockwell's multi-function communications and Internet
connectivity technology for a complete and versatile home
networking solution
Rockwell Semiconductor Systems today announced it has signed an agreement with Tut Systems to license Tut's HomeRun(TM) technology for use in a family of multi-function chips for affordable home networking.
The chipsets will combine home networking with V.90 and Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) modem connectivity into one convenient, low-cost solution that uses existing in-home telephone wiring to connect multiple PCs and peripherals at a speed of 1Mbps. The chips will fully comply with V1.0 specifications which are being developed by the Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HomePNA). Rockwell is a founding member of the HomePNA, which was established in June 1998 by many of the industry's leading computing and communications companies. The HomePNA has adopted Tut's HomeRun technology as the basis for a set of specifications that the organization intends to publish in the third quarter of 1998.
While most early home-networking products are expected to provide only basic networking capability, Rockwell's first product will provide a combination of home networking and V.90 modem capabilities. Rockwell already has proven expertise in combining modem and 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN technology into multi-function chips for business connectivity applications. Future home-networking products from Rockwell will provide increasing levels of connectivity, including built-in support for full-rate ADSL at up to 8Mbps, as well as the forthcoming G.lite standard for ''always on'' splitterless 1.5Mbps Universal ADSL (UASDL). With a DSL WAN link, users can simultaneously make a phone call, transmit home networking data, and have multiple accesses to the Internet using the same line. Rockwell's multi-function home-networking chips will be bundled into PCs or used in easy-to-install single-card retail products, and will present one convenient RJ-11 jack to the user.
''Rockwell's partnership with Tut brings together a powerful mix of technologies for consumers who are looking for the most versatile home-networking environment possible,'' said Kevin Strong, division director of marketing for Digital Communications Products within Rockwell's Personal Computing Division. ''We believe that home networking technology will have the greatest appeal when it is bundled together with a broad range of other connectivity capabilities. Home PC users want to do more than simply share data and peripherals -- they also want to cut the costs of multiple phone lines and Internet access subscriptions. Rockwell's multi-function home-networking technology will let them do that.''
Rockwell is working closely with Tut to marry the two companies' technologies into seamless solutions for home-networking users. ''Rockwell brings a tremendous range of expertise to this partnership, particularly in the area of combining multiple networking and communications technologies on a single, compact semiconductor device,'' said Matthew Taylor, chairman and CTO of Tut Systems. ''The HomeRun platform is designed both for connecting PCs and peripherals and for sharing a single high-speed Internet access connection to the home, and we're pleased to see Rockwell pursuing a product strategy that realizes HomeRun's full potential. Rockwell also has significant expertise in next-generation digital infotainment technology, and we're excited at the prospects of working with Rockwell to apply our HomeRun technology to a diverse array of intelligent consumer appliances like digital set top boxes, Internet television, digital cameras and multifunction printers.''
Industry analysts believe that consumer demand for home networking solutions has reached critical mass, driven by the growth in multi-PC households and by the need for enhanced Internet connectivity. The ability to share files, printers, scanners and storage devices among multiple family members is just one facet of home networking's appeal.
Rockwell Semiconductor Systems is based in Newport Beach. Rockwell Semiconductor Systems is a leading worldwide provider of semiconductor system solutions for personal communications electronics products used in personal computing, network access, personal imaging, wireless communications and digital infotainment. These product platforms offer a variety of technology convergence opportunities and each leverages the company's 30-year mixed-signal computing heritage in such key areas as signal-processing algorithms, signal conversion, and communications protocols. For more information, visit the Rockwell Semiconductor Systems Web site at rss.rockwell.com. Rockwell (NYSE:ROK - news) is a global electronic controls and communications company with leadership positions in industrial automation, avionics and communications, and electronic commerce. In late June Rockwell announced that it planned to spin off to shareowners its Semiconductor Systems business at calendar year end. Rockwell's continuing businesses will have projected fiscal 1998 sales of approximately $7 billion and 38,000 employees.
HomeRun is a trademark of Tut Systems.
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