PairGain and Level One Announce Industry's First HDSL2 Solution
Jointly developed chip set first to meet stringent ANSI standards; products
available for trials by year end
TUSTIN, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 1998-- PairGain Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:
PAIR - news) and Level One Communications, Inc. today announced that the companies have
combined their strengths to develop a powerful new HDSL2-based chip set, which is the industry's
first solution to meet the stringent American National Standards Institute (ANSI) T1E1.4 technical
standard requirements the two companies helped to define. HDSL2 is based on the Overlapped
Pulse-amplitude-modulation (PAM) Transmission with Interlocking Spectra (OPTIS) line code
originally conceived by PairGain.
PairGain and Level One have delivered the industry's first HDSL2 standards-based chip set, which
will enable telcos to offer their business customers with T1 transport over a single copper pair,
versus the two pair requirements of today's T1 HDSL solutions.
The joint development by the two companies has resulted in other companies adopting the chip set
for product development, thus bringing the prospect of HDSL2 interoperability closer to reality.
PairGain is currently integrating and testing the jointly developed HDSL2 chip set into its
next-generation HiGain(TM) T1 access and Avidia product lines and expects to begin lab and field
tests with major carriers in North America as early as December, 1998.
''PairGain and Level One's standards cooperation and joint product development have resulted in a
chip set that will speed widespread deployment and accelerate interoperability of this technology,''
said Dr. George Zimmerman, PairGain's chief scientist.
''HDSL2 is an exciting new breakthrough in DSL technology that delivers to business customers a
symmetrical high-speed transport service over a single copper pair,'' said Dan Cordingley, DSL
product line director at Level One.
Level One's proven expertise in DSL, mixed signal transceiver technology and silicon design
combined with PairGain's proven DSL systems knowledge and IC development has created a
standards-based, interoperable transmission chip set for serving both carriers and business
customers. PairGain and Level One's innovative solution provides the required noise margin to
compensate for losses in transmission performance typically observed in a twisted pair network.
About HDSL2
HDSL2 will deliver to business customers the same reliable performance of two-pair HDSL over a
single copper telephone line. The T1E1.4 approved transmission scheme enables HDSL2 to coexist
in the same cable bundle with T1, ADSL, and ISDN without crosstalk interference. HDSL2 uses
OPTIS signalling, a 16 level PAM line code with Tomlinson pre-coding, a shaped spectrum, and an
advanced low latency forward error correction code to achieve up to 1.552 Mbps over CSA loops
up to 12,000 feet in length, with 5 dB of noise margin even in worst case crosstalk environments.
PairGain and Level One were two of the companies that proposed OPTIS for the HDSL2 standard
that was agreed to in December, 1997.
About PairGain
PairGain Technologies, Inc. is the world leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of DSL
(Digital Subscriber Line) networking systems. Service providers and private network operators
worldwide use PairGain's products to deploy DSL-based services, such as high-speed Internet,
remote LAN access and enterprise LAN extensions over the existing infrastructure of copper
telephones lines.
For more than ten years, PairGain has been recognized as a technology leader and industry
innovator. The company offers the widest range of HDSL, ADSL and SDSL-based systems
available. Its product lines include HiGain(R) T1/E1 access systems, small subscriber carrier
systems, including PG-Flex(R) and PG-Plus(TM), enterprise LAN systems and megabit access
solutions, including the Avidia(TM) system, integrated access concentrator and Megabit
Modems(TM). Currently, more than 1,000,000 PairGain DSL nodes are installed in over 70
countries. Additional information about the company is available via the Internet at
www.pairgain.com.
About Level One Communications, Inc.
Level One Communications (Nasdaq: LEVL - news) provides silicon connectivity, LAN switching
and WAN access solutions for high-speed telecom and networking applications. These components
are critical elements in today's telecommunication and data communication networks and are the key
building blocks for the Intranets and Internets of the future. Level One combines its strengths in
analog and digital circuit design, with its communications systems expertise, to produce digital and
mixed-signal solutions with increased functionality and greater reliability, resulting in lower total
systems cost. Level One Communications, Inc. is ISO 9001 registered, illustrating the company's
commitment to world-class standards and providing high quality products.
Company headquarters are located at 9750 Goethe Road, Sacramento, CA 95827. For information
on the company and its products, visit its site on the World Wide Web at level1.com.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this announcement are
forward-looking statements which involve risk and uncertainties, including but not limited to
economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors affecting the Companies' operations,
markets, products, services and prices and other factors discussed in the Companies' filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. |
