First ADSL Chip Set Optimized For PCs. Host-Based Architecture Greatly Reduces Cost and Power Consumption.
September 1, 1998
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ via
NewsEdge Corporation -- Integrated Telecom
Express, Inc. (ITeX) today announced the industry's
first ADSL modem chip set optimized for personal
computers, set-top boxes, notebook computers,
PDAs, etc. The SAM Chip Set contains 9
patent-pending innovations, and is fully compliant
with the G.Lite standard. The chip set is also
compatible with the ANSI T1.413 standard.
The new chip set will allow personal computer users
to surf the Internet up to 30 times faster than is
currently possible with 56 Kbps modems. The chips
work with a 300 Mhz Pentium-II host processor and
support Intel's future processors. The chip set can
achieve downstream transfer rates up to 1.5 Mbps
and 384 Kbps upstream transfer rates in
accordance with the proposed G.Lite standard.
The SAM (Scalable ADSL Modem) Chip Set is
unique because it includes software that does
ADSL processing using the available power of a
PC's host CPU. This scalable approach greatly
reduces cost and power consumption. It also allows
the software to be modified to conform to changes
in future ADSL standards. The SAM software does
power management and can put the chip set into a
low power mode when the devices are not being
used. The chip set uses a splitterless approach that
works with existing telephone connections, and
eliminates home and office rewiring.
The SAM Chip Set uses about half the power of
other ADSL solutions which makes it ideal for
notebook computers and PDAs. The $40 price of
the chip set and software puts the SAM solution
within the stringent cost requirements of PC
manufacturers.
According to Victor Lee, Vice President of Sales &
Marketing, "Our company has been focused for
several years on developing the technology to get
ADSL modems built into PCs and network interface
cards. We recognized early on that this goal
required a radical new approach in order to keep the
price and power within the requirements of
manufacturers. To achieve this objective we
conceived a scalable approach in which part of the
ADSL processing is assigned to the available
processing power on a PC's host CPU."
The SAM Chip Set consists of host software,
IX9816 digital chip and IX8134 analog front end. The
host software is provided on a diskette as
assembled Windows(R) 98 object code. It performs
the high-level ADSL processing functions,
communicates to the IX9816 via a PCI (Peripheral
Component Interconnect) interface and the ATM
support on the operating system.
The IX9816 digital chip uses a state-machine
architecture to do partial ADSL modulation
functions, and FFT and IFFT processing. It uses a
proprietary interface to connect to the IX8134 analog
front end, and it also has a standard interface (i.e.,
AC Link) to connect to third party 56Kbps (V.90)
host modem chips if that function is desired.
The IX8134 analog front end chip uses two 12-bit
D/A converters and a set of filters to shape the
ADSL waveforms going out over the telephone lines.
Incoming waveforms are isolated with filters and
converted for digital processing via a 13-bit A/D
converter.
About SAM Technology
SAM technology is completely compatible with
G.Lite and ANSI Standard T1.413 which means its
chips can talk to any other chip that uses those
standards. The SAM technology makes it possible
to scale up a modem's maximum transfer speed as
processor speeds increase.
SAM technology also allows a PC user to scale the
transfer speed dynamically through the use of
software. This software allows a PC user to allocate
more processor power to the modem function in
order to gain greater transfer speed.
About ADSL Technology
ADSL is a technology that was developed to
increase the speed of Internet access and web
surfing over ordinary telephone lines. The
technology is made possible by advanced modem
chips that sit at each end of the telephone line and
translate the data into a format that can pass over
standard twisted pair wires.
The ANSI T1.413 specification of ADSL defines the
maximum transfer rate to be 8 Mbps, and the
proposed G.Lite specification defines the maximum
rate at 1.5 Mbps. However, both of these standards
provide for a mechanism that adjusts the transfer
rates depending on the quality of the telephone lines
being used.
When a computer user places a call to the Internet,
the modem in the PC will begin a series of
handshaking steps with the modem at the other end
of the line to determine the maximum speed the
telephone line will allow. Once this speed is
established, the PC user is now connected to the
Internet at the fastest rate supported by the
telephone line.
ADSL achieves its high speed by transferring data
over the phone line using many different frequencies
or channels (up to 255). This is similar to the
concept of a radio receiver that uses different
stations or channels to get information. In the same
way, ADSL modems transfer vast amounts of
information by breaking it up and sending it over
different channels to the modem chip in a PC. The
PC modem chip then "reassembles" the data from
the different channels and forwards it to the
computer screen.
Availability and Price
The SAM Chip Set and software will be sampling in
November with production in Q1 1999. The chip set
including software is priced at $40 in quantities of
1,000. The IX9816 digital chip is available in a
160-pin, PQFP (Plastic Quad Flat Package) and the
IX8134 analog front end chip is available in a 64-pin
TQFP (Thin Quad Flat Package). The software is
available as Windows 98 object code on a 3 /-inch
diskette.
Reader Contact
Marca Johnson, Marketing Communications
Specialist, Integrated Telecom Express, Inc., 2710
Walsh Ave., Santa Clara, CA 95051. Telephone:
408-980-8689, ext. 268. E-mail:
marca.johnson@itexinc.com, Web site:
www.itexinc.com.
Company Background
Integrated Telecom Express, Inc., (ITeX) is a
contributing member of the UAWG (Universal ADSL
Working Group). ITeX is in business to design,
manufacture, market and support ADSL
semiconductor solutions for the telecommunications
equipment, personal computers and consumer
electronics industries. The company provides
solutions that give system manufacturers
advantages in system design, flexibility, scalability
and cost. ITeX has significant resources that include
important technical and management skills such as
design expertise in analog, digital and mixed-signal
technologies. The company also has strategic
partnerships with foundries in Asia. SOURCE
Integrated Telecom Express, Inc.
/CONTACT: Marca Johnson, Marketing
Communications Specialist of Integrated Telecom
Express, Inc., 408-980-8689, ext. 268, or
marca.johnson@itexinc.com/ /Web site:
itexinc.com
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