I see a pattern happening here with G.Lite. Look at the date of the following news brief that is a bit negative on aware.
A month old:
techweb.com
June 12, 2000, Issue: 1215
Section: Communications
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ADSL solutions multiplying -- Include fixed-function DSP algorithms, software implementations
Darrell Dunn
As ADSL technology begins to move into the mainstream, solution providers are giving OEMs a plethora of hardware and software choices with which to bring high-bandwidth communications capability into homes and businesses.
While leading programmable-DSP manufacturers such as Analog Devices, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, and Texas Instruments have all introduced chipset platforms for ADSL, alternative solutions that rely on either fixed-function algorithms or software implementations also abound.
Conexant Systems Inc., for example, has rolled out a home-gateway solution-providing ADSL, V.90, phone-line networking, and Ethernet-ready functionality-based on the company's AccessRunner modem, which uses fixed-function DSP algorithms.
Motorola Inc.'s Software Products Division has introduced a soft-DSL technology that uses the host signal processing (HSP) capabilities of the emerging Gigabit generation of PC microprocessors.
Texas Instruments Inc. has announced that its TNETD3000P ADSL chip- set, based on the company's TMS302C6x DSP core, will be used by Compaq Computer Corp. in configure-to-order (CTO) PCs that feature splitterless full-rate ADSL capabilities.
The various approaches to ADSL connectivity will provide OEMs and consumers with price and performance options in selecting how to provide high bandwidth.
"There will be multiple winners, and ultimately it may be those with the greatest fab capacity who will win out," said Will Strauss, an analyst at Forward Concepts Co., Tempe, Ariz.
"ADSL is now growing faster than previously anticipated," he said. "The RBOCs are finally getting DSL religion. When ADSL started out, it appeared the RBOCs were as unexcited about it as they had been earlier about ISDN. But now, cable operators are eating their lunch [with cable modems], so they're moving quickly, and they realize that with voice-over-IP, they have a great new way to get revenue."
ADSL subscribers in the United States are expected to grow over the next five years at a compound annual rate of 58%, from 2.1 million in 2000 to nearly 21 million in 2005, according to Forward Concepts.
Eventually, splitterless full-rate ADSL will win favor with consumers, as ADSL G.Lite implementations, which originally had the advantage over full-rate of being splitterless, are failing to attract a following, Strauss said.
Both the soft-DSL and fixed-function approach to ADSL rely to some extent on the host processor for control functions. Programmable-DSP-based solutions, while generally more expensive, perform without tapping into the host processor.
"When you compare any function and its implementation of a general-purpose programmable DSP vs. one optimized in an ASIC, you end up with a lower system cost when using an ASIC," said Nick Burd, director of DSL products at Conexant's Personal Computing Division in Newport Beach, Calif.
The company's AccessRunner home-gateway chipset is a "four-in-one" solution that uses horizontal integration across four physical media, but uses only one PCI slot, freeing up other slots for other PC applications, Burd said.
The chipset supports 8-Mbit/s full-rate ADSL or 1.5-Mbit/s G.Lite, as well as V.90 dial-up modem technology. The chipset also supports the HomePNA 1.0 (1-Mbit/s) or HomePNA 2.0 (10-Mbit/s) specifications to deliver broadband services to the home over a phone line using existing wiring. In addition, it is Ethernet-ready, and can be used to enable a high-speed LAN.
"PC OEMs don't want to necessarily bundle ADSL with PCs that ship out the door, but many of them are interested in creating gateway products," Burd said. "[Our chipset] has all the functions you need in a gateway solution: a broadband connection, an ability to distribute the information to multiple PCs and appliances within a household, Ethernet connectivity, and the ability for occasional V.90 connections."
To enable the ADSL connection, the Conexant solution uses about 30 MHz of the host processor to provide 1.5-Mbit/s downstream transmissions, Burd said.
Motorola's SoftDSL technology requires a large host-processor budget, but it is implemented with minimal silicon support, according to company executives.
The SoftDSL chipset integrates a PCI interface, DSL codec, and ADSL software, said Mike Tramontano, director of marketing at Motorola's Software Products Division in Mansfield, Mass.
The chipset is being targeted at $500 PCs and portable Internet-connected personal-communications devices.
"Both Intel and AMD have broken the gigahertz barrier," Tramontano said. "By eliminating dedicated software, we save a tremendous amount of cost, which is a very compelling proposition in today's PC marketplace with prices spiraling downward."
Soft V.90 modems have gained in popularity in the past few years, with a third of all consumer PC modems shipped last year using the devices, and as much as 50% expected in 2000, Burd said.
"We think ADSL will follow in the same vein," he said. "We feel this is a cost-reduction thing, and of course our sister division [the Semiconductor Products Sector] sells the CopperGold DSP-based ADSL solution."
At 1.5-Mbit/s transmission rates, the SoftDSL implementation will consume about 130 MHz for a host processor, he said.
Nancy Fares, DSL marketing manager at TI, said she is not convinced that HSP-based ADSL solutions will find significant favor in the marketplace.
"When you look at the host-processing requirements for soft DSL, it seems to me to defeat the purpose of talking about cheap DSL," she said. "It might have a home in Asia, but I don't think it will have a home in the U.S., at least initially."
Beginning next month, TI's '3000P ADSL chipset will be used in Compaq Presario computers that are ordered online with CTO specifications or at "Built for You" kiosks at participating retailers.
PC OEMs such as Compaq prefer to use a CTO platform for ADSL, as the current demand is tied to specific service availability, Fares said.
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