Intel Investors - The Camino Chip Set may enhance Software Modem Capability.
Faster processors and new chip sets (Camino) may help drive down PC prices, replacing more hardware with software.
This may be another feature of the Camino chip set as well as Rambus support.
Paul
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techweb.com
August 10, 1998, Issue: 1121
Section: News
Audio spec bites into modem chip market
Mark Hachman and Mark LaPedus
Silicon Valley -- A combination of market forces and new technology may be
heralding a vast shift in the modem industry, as software-based communication
begins its ascendancy, industry observers say.
In the latest sign that modem chipsets may soon be replaced by strings of code,
Rockwell Semiconductor Systems this week will roll out its first software-based
V.90 modem. Rockwell and other vendors have grown increasingly committed
to the idea that large portions of today's hardwired modems are heading toward
obsolescence-especially in low-cost PCs.
"It doesn't take a leap of faith to imagine that audio and modem capabilities will
become far more integrated into the PC vs. a separate hardware solution," said
Rahul Shah, senior product marketing manager for software modems at
Rockwell, Newport Beach, Calif.
Market observers agreed. "Software-based modems are a slam-dunk trend,"
said Greg Sheppard, communications analyst at Dataquest Inc., San Jose.
Sheppard estimates that by 1999, 30% to 40% of the 56-Kbit/s
analog-modem-chipset market may be "soft-style," a term that refers to varying
combinations of hardware and software.
The reason? Intel Corp.'s Audio Codec '97 version 2.0 standard, and the
company's decision to build the AC '97 link into a 1999 chipset, code-named
Camino, for desktop PCs. This, plus the competitive nature of the modem
market, may be persuading vendors to focus on newer, higher-margin
communications technologies, observers said.
Released in October 1997, AC '97 2.0 was designed to improve PC audio
performance by pairing a digital audio controller with multiple analog codecs
used for audio and communications. Companies have already begun using the
specification to add software functions to their products.
Soft-modem vendor PC-Tel Inc., for example, earlier this year announced that
its communications software would run on a digital sound controller developed
by Yamaha Systems Technology Inc., San Jose.
"Software-based initiatives like audio, DVD, and modems [via the AC '97 link]
are being pushed pretty hard by Intel," said Steve Manuel, vice president of
marketing at PC-Tel, Milpitas, Calif. "But I don't think Intel wants to control [the
direction of modem technology]. What Intel is doing is offering its customers
more flexibility."
Still, ventures such as the PC-Tel/Yamaha collaboration could become even
more common next year. Confidential Intel road maps obtained from OEM
customers show that in 1999, the digital portion of the AC '97 link will be
included in the Camino chipset.
With this combination, developers could substitute the Camino for the modem's
digital hardware controller, pairing the remaining analog front end and physical
connector with the AC '97 analog codec in a single, low-cost device.
"I'd say that would add about eight more pins to the package, which isn't that
expensive," said Bob Merritt, communications analyst at Semico Research
Corp., Mountain View, Calif.
By tying a software modem to the chipset, however, the modem would
effectively be mounted on the motherboard. Since each country demands a
different DAA (digital access arrangement) component, motherboard
manufacturers and PC OEMs would have to design country-specific products,
noted Dean McCarron, principal at Mercury Research, Scottsdale, Ariz.
"Could you do a software AC '97 modem with the Camino chipset? Sure, no
problem," McCarron said. "The question is, would you?"
PC-Tel, though, is working on a programmable silicon DAA that could be
placed on a small daughtercard, which would alleviate the problem, he said.
An Intel spokesman declined to discuss Camino specifics, stating only that more
information will be released at the September Intel Developers' Forum.
Rockwell and others have also released "controllerless" modems that use the
host CPU. Rockwell's SoftK56 modem takes this a step further by placing the
bus controller, codec, and codec interface on a single chip, Shah said.
Rockwell's PCI software modem is available now, for $20 in 10,000s. Options
include a two-package version that's pin-compatible with its "controllerless"
modem, or a single 144-pin TQFP. The controllerless modem costs $28 in
10,000s. Full hardware modem chipsets are about $40, Shah said.
Copyright r 1998 CMP Media Inc. |
