<A> Motorola Joins Universal ADSL Working Group
(kinda funny, IMO...especially the "flexible" part)
AUSTIN, Texas--
Supports Newly Formed Consortium's Objective of Accelerating
the Availability of Affordable, High-Speed Internet Access
Technology to the Consumer Market
Motorola Wednesday announced that it has joined the Universal ADSL Working Group (UAWG), a newly formed consortium of leaders from the PC, networking and telecommunications industries that is working to accelerate the availability of affordable, high-speed Internet access technology to the consumer market.
Led by PC companies Compaq, Intel and Microsoft, and telecommunications providers Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, BellSouth, GTE, SBC Communications, Sprint and U S WEST, the UAWG intends to work through the ITU standards process to develop a simplified version of Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) technology called "Universal ADSL."
"Joining the UAWG is a natural extension of Motorola's dedication to enabling widespread, low-cost megabit access to the Internet and other multimedia applications," said Debbie Sallee, strategic marketing manager of broadband operations for Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector. "We have been involved in the ADSL industry since its inception, and we are thrilled with the interest that the formation of the UAWG has created in this exciting technology."
Sallee stated: "Motorola is committed to developing a wide range of future product options for customers of our CopperGold Family of ADSL System Solutions. The flexibility of the CopperGold system should allow us to easily accommodate the new requirements of Universal ADSL and other proposed future enhancements.
"As part of the UAWG, we will work to ensure that Universal ADSL is compatible with and complementary to the existing ADSL standard, and that the completed Universal ADSL specification is one that meets industry interoperability needs and provides end users with high-quality service."
With the announcement of the UAWG, a variety of new terms have been introduced, including "ADSL Lite" and "Splitterless ADSL." To prevent any confusion about what these different terms signify, Motorola offers the following explanations:
Splitterless ADSL is an ADSL system without a low pass filter, a device that helps prevent cross interference between the voice (POTS) and ADSL signals. With Splitterless ADSL, an end user can go to a store, purchase a modem and install the system himself, speeding his access to the technology and saving service providers the cost and time associated with truck rolls for equipment installation.
ADSL Lite is a subrated ADSL system, with a data rate limited to 1.5 Mbps or less downstream. While ADSL Lite systems may have to offer lower data throughput and shorter reach than full-rate ADSL systems, manufacturers hope to reduce the digital signal processing requirements that full-rate ADSL systems demand.
This desire to reduce the complexity must be carefully weighed with the market requirements to provide adequate ADSL service coverage. Some U.S. service providers are asking for even longer reach than the ANSI standard provides.
"Universal ADSL seeks to combine the benefits of both Splitterless and Lite ADSL configurations to accelerate the availability of low-cost, high-speed Internet access for consumers, but true mass deployment will only occur if end users have a high-quality experience with the technology," Sallee said.
The quality of service implications of a splitterless system are currently under review by the ITU, ANSI and the ADSL Forum. Sallee noted, "Motorola is engaged in research and development work to fully understand the options for eliminating the splitter while maintaining acceptable bandwidth and quality of service for the customer. The results of this research will be the basis for our technical contributions to the appropriate standards body."
Motorola's CopperGold Family of ADSL Solutions
Motorola's innovative CopperGold Family of ADSL Solutions includes the highly integrated transceiver (MC145650), the performance-optimizing and power-saving line driver (MC03AX1456) and a wide array of complementary components tailored for specific applications such as Ethernet transceivers (MC68160), ATM Cell Processors (MC92501) and many host control options (MPC860, MPC860SAR, MPC850, MCX683xx, MC68EN302/360).
Motorola's CopperGold ADSL Solution is fully supported with evaluation boards, APIs, a system analyzer and Motorola's world-class applications support. For more information on the CopperGold Family, visit Motorola's Web site at motorola.com/adsl. For more information on the Universal ADSL Working Group, visit its Web site at uawg.org.
About Motorola
With 1997 worldwide sales of $8.0 billion, Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector is committed to enabling its customers' success by providing systems solutions, processes and services to anticipate and respond to changing technologies and market dynamics.
As the largest U.S.-based, broad-line semiconductor supplier, the Sector delivers global resources, product design and development expertise and the highest-quality technology solutions to its customers. Motorola semiconductors power automobiles, communications and computing systems, and millions of other consumer products. Corporate sales in 1996 were $29.8 billion.
CopperGold is a trademark of Motorola Semiconductor.
Photos of the CopperGold Transceiver are available by calling |
