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To: patrick tang who wrote (4701)	2/18/1999 2:21:00 PM
From: DJBEINO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9582

Intel might co-develop host-based cable-modem ICs By Mark LaPedus Electronic Buyers' News SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Continuing its quest to integrate broadband communications in the PC architecture, Intel Corp. is in talks with Libit Signal Processing Ltd. about co-developing a line of host-based cable-modem chip sets. The chip sets to be developed would be integrated into the PC and driven by the system's microprocessor, thereby eliminating the need for a stand-alone modem. Current stand-alone cable modems include an internal processor to boost performance, namely a RISC chip from Hitachi Ltd., IBM Corp.'s Microelectronics Division, or another supplier. "We're interested in promoting the concept of host-based cable modems," said Jacob Tanz, vice president of worldwide sales at Herzlia, Israel-based Libit, a supplier of cable-modem chipsets. Libit's U.S. office is located in Los Altos, Calif. Tanz confirmed that Libit is talking to Intel, but declined to elaborate on future product plans. "We are in discussions with Intel," he said. "It's also in Intel's interest to address this technology as well." Intel is pushing the market toward software-driven cable modems as well as analog modems and Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL) technologies as a means to sell more high-end microprocessors, analysts said. Last October, Intel invested in a Santa Clara, Calif.-based xDSL chip start-up called Integrated Telecom Express Inc., which is currently selling a software-driven xDSL solution to OEMs. Now, Intel apparently has selected Libit as its cable-modem partner, which poses a threat to the world's leading supplier of cable-modem chip sets-Broadcom Corp. "Libit was the first vendor to announce a [Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications] DOCSIS-compliant chip set, but they have since been snuffed out by Broadcom," said Shannon Pleasant, an analyst at In-Stat Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz. "This may be a way for Libit to get their foot back in the door with cable-modem vendors." Software-driven cable-modem and xDSL technologies, however, are still in their infancy, Pleasant said. And the DOCSIS standard has yet to be solidified, forcing OEMs to ship proprietary cable-modem products. Still, the stakes are high. The market is expected to grow from 492,000 units shipped in 1998 to 2.4 million units by 2002, according to Dataquest Inc., San Jose. +++INTEL OWNS 750K( before split) of BROADCOM+++