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To: EdR who wrote (27623)	10/21/1997 10:19:00 PM
From: Chemsync	Respond to of 31386

[Intel, Cisco Collaborate On PC Cable Modem Market 10/21/97] Hi Ed, Thanks for posting the Gilder link--a novel concept. The pace is picking up in the broadband arena. They're on the backstrech now...... Steve SANTA CLARA,CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1997 OCT 21 (NB) -- By Bill Pietrucha. Looking to quicken the pace of pushing high speed cable modems into the consumer arena, Intel [NASDAQ:INTC] and Cisco Systems [NASDAQ:CSCO] said they are collaborating to develop and deploy consumer installable plug and play PC cable modems. According to Intel's Vice President of business development Avram Miller, the two companies, which today signed a letter of intent to cooperate on bringing PC cable modems into homes, will focus on the development and deployment of consumer-installable, Data Over Cable Service Specification (DOCSIS)-compliant, external cable modems using the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard. The cable modems, Miller said, will provide consumers with high- bandwidth connections to PCs some 100 times faster than current 56 kilobits per second (Kbps) telephone modems. The faster connection, he said, allows high-speed Internet access, and will enable new classes of broadband services and applications for consumers. "We believe that working with Cisco to simplify cable modem installations will help the cable industry overcome one of the major obstacles to high-volume deployment of cable modems," Miller said. The USB approach to cable modem design, Miller said, "will allow easy consumer installation and configuration using the plug-and-play features of USB." By contract, Miller said that current cable modems can require a trained technician to install a card inside the PC, make the needed cable connection, and then configure the PC. According to a recent Dataquest forecast, over 70 percent of all PCs shipped in 1997, and virtually all in 1998, will be USB capable. Charlie Giancarlo, Cisco's vice president of global alliances, said that the company intends to work with Intel to extend the cable industry's DOCSIS specification to include Intel's USB cable modem specifications. Extending the DOCSIS specifications to include USB, Giancarlo said, will offer an alternative to the current Ethernet interface for cable modems. "We're pleased with this development and feel it will bring real value to residential customers," Giancarlo said. Under the terms of the agreement, Intel will provide engineering and marketing resources to develop, validate and promote its USB alternative for DOCSIS-compliant cable modems, while Cisco will work with Intel to enhance the DOCSIS specification and validate the end-to-end capability. Miller said that Intel also plans to base its USB cable modem design work on Cisco's cable modem hardware reference design and help Cisco integrate USB into future versions of its reference design. Giancarlo said that in mid-September, Cisco announced its intent to collaborate with major consumer electronics companies that plan to deliver cable modems based on the DOCSIS specification. Intel and Cisco plan to work toward ensuring that products compliant with Intel's specification can interoperate with the cable networking equipment Cisco intends to build, Giancarlo said, while Cisco will endorse Intel's design and offer it to cable modem and advanced subscriber suppliers to deliver specification-compliant equipment.

To: EdR who wrote (27623)	10/21/1997 10:36:00 PM
From: Chemsync	Respond to of 31386

[Who needs cable? NEC Unveils Wireless Multimedia Network For The Home 10/21/97] (Who needs cable? For short distances) TOKYO, JAPAN, 1997 OCT 21 (NB) -- By Martyn Williams. NEC Corporation [TOKYO:6701] has unveiled a new wireless-based optical network system for use within the home. The system, which translates data to infrared, can send video, audio and data around the home. The new system is based on the IEEE 1394 high speed serial data bus, a new multimedia interface that is beginning to appear on new audio visual equipment and computers, designed for easy connection of multimedia devices. If consumers want to use the system now, they have to connect everything with cable. But using cables comes with some problems. In the home they often have to be hidden, in walls or behind furniture, and this means added work for installing them. The second problem is that cable lengths are restricted to 4.5-meters, which means repeaters are needed if the system is to span a greater distance. To solve these problems, and make it easier to deploy a network, NEC says its scientists worked on using existing technology to develop a new system. "Essentially, they have developed very little," said a company spokesman. "The research and development work has focused on the interface between the IEEE 1394 system and the infra red transceiver. They have also worked on getting the infra red units down in size." The system is expected to be commercially available in around a year from now, when the transceivers are expected to be around the size of a computer mouse rather than the telephone sized units on display today. Under the envisaged system, you won't be able to totally free your home from cables. Wire links between rooms, terminating in infra red transceivers in each room, will provide transmission around corners and between doors, which would otherwise be difficult. Technical specifications for the system include the ability to transmit data at up to 125-megabits per second over distances of up to 10-meters. The IEEE 1394 standard was developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and up to 63 devices can be supported on a single network. NEC said its new PC-98 platform personal computers, the PC98-NX series, will feature such interfaces and other manufacturers, including Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. which has a digital video camera with such an interface, are beginning to install them on high-end models. The entire system complies with the IEC825-1 international safety standard for laser products and light emitting diodes, said the maker. (19971021/Reported By Newsbytes News Network: newsbytes.com /NEC971021/PHOTO) -