Friday, October 26, 2007

Ikanos introduced Rapid Rate Adaptation (RRA(TM)) technology

Ikanos'' recently-introduced Rapid Rate Adaptation (RRA(TM)) technology is designed to allow service providers to minimize service interruptions and increase uptime compared to previous generations of VDSL2 and ADSLx, thus enhancing the user experience of triple play over VDSL2. The RRA technology is a fundamental DSL innovation that enables transceivers to dynamically adapt the data rate without interrupting service for retraining, as long as there is adequate bandwidth to absorb the impact of the noise. -- Ikanos announced that Gemtek Technology Co. Ltd., an original design manufacturer (ODM) based in Taiwan, is now shipping a full featured triple play residential gateway that uses Ikanos'' VDSL2 CPE and Fusiv® processor silicon and residential gateway software suite. Gemtek''s WVDK-105G is being offered to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) worldwide and has been qualified by a major North American carrier. -- Ikanos and Wintegra announced an Ethernet bonding solution for their mutual VDSL2 customers. This solution combines Wintegra''s market-leading Access Packet Processors and Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM) bonding software with Ikanos'' multi-mode VDSL2 central office (CO) chipsets, which offer the industry''s highest performance and lowest power. The jointly developed solution is designed to deliver a compelling mix of validated hardware and software, which enables carriers to rapidly deploy services. Outlook: -- Revenue is expected to be between $29 million and $31 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. -- Non-GAAP gross margins* are expected to be between 44% and 46% in the fourth quarter of 2007. GAAP gross margins in the fourth quarter of 2007 will be lower than non-GAAP gross margins, as they will include amortization of acquisition-related intangibles of approximately $0.3 million to $1.0 million and charges related to stock-based compensation expense in accordance with FAS 123? of approximately $0.1 million. -- Non-GAAP operating expenses are expected to be in the range of $14 to $15 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. GAAP operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2007 will be higher, as they will include amortization of acquisition-related intangibles of $0.3 million, restructuring charges of $0.3 to $0.5 million and charges related to stock-based compensation expense in accordance with FAS 123? of $3.5 to $4.5 million. -- Annual 2008 revenue growth is expected to increase by 20 to 25% as compared to fiscal 2007. -- Non-GAAP operating expenses are expected to be in the range of $57 to $61 million for 2008. GAAP operating expenses in 2008 will be higher, as they will include amortization of acquisition-related intangibles of approximately $1.3 million, and charges related to stock-based compensation expense in accordance with FAS 123? of approximately $14 to $16 million. * The Company refers to gross margins as the result of revenue less cost of revenue divided by revenue.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Comtrend Takes Leadership Role In Residential IPTV Deployment

Comtrend Takes Leadership Role In ResidentialIPTV Deployment By Licensing Broadcom® PhyR™ Technology
Router/Gateway Manufacturer is First in U.S. to Acquire Broadcom’s Breakthrough Firmware Upgrade, Enabling Dramatically Improved Triple-Play Quality of Service
IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Comtrend Corp., a leading supplier of broadband, VoIP and data networking equipment, today announced it has become the first U.S. CPE equipment vendor to license and introduce the use of Broadcom Corporation’s (NASDAQ: BRCM) PhyR™ impulse noise protection technology, a major advancement that promises dramatically improved voice, data and video services for residential and business DSL customers. Comtrend intends to deploy PhyR (pronounced “fire”) technology across its lineup of ADSL2+ and VDSL2 routers and gateways, giving its carrier customers a competitive advantage in deploying next-generation triple-play services, particularly IPTV, over existing copper lines.
PhyR is an innovative data retransmission system that exists at the DSL physical layer. The technology, developed exclusively by Broadcom, increases impulse noise resilience by as much as ten times, while also lowering residual BER (Bit-Error-Rate) or packet loss.
With ADSL2+/VDSL2 equipment powered by PhyR technology, telecom carriers have a simple and inexpensive way to deploy IPTV and other advanced triple-play services with the assured quality of service. It also allows carriers to extend their network service area without loss of video quality.
“Deploying IPTV effectively requires a guaranteed amount of DSL data throughput as well as low latency and high Impulse Noise Protection, or INP,” said Joe Maier, Director of Technology for Comtrend. “Unfortunately, the standard interleaving approach to achieving INP imposes a high interleave delay, which negatively impacts throughput. PhyR is a true breakthrough because it significantly reduces the burden on DSL networks that would otherwise use a higher layer retransmission scheme, thereby increasing efficiency and enabling the high bit rate IPTV requires.”
In addition to its simple physical layer architecture, CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) powered by Broadcom® PhyR technology offers a number of practical business advantages. Premises-based tuning is eliminated, making network provisioning much easier. Firmware upgrades can be easily deployed through remote management; and because PhyR reduces the burden on networks that use higher layer retransmission schemes, network and upper layer applications are not impacted in any way.
“As triple play carriers are aware, IPTV can be extremely fickle. Even small disturbances or power surges can cause poor IPTV video quality,” noted Andrew Morton, Comtrend’s General Manager. “For the upcoming IPTV push to be successful, service quality must not only meet, but surpass, existing service quality. Comtrend PhyR-powered ADSL2+ and VDSL2 routers and gateways will meet that high standard.”
Comtrend is currently in test with its PhyR-powered equipment and expects to begin deployment in early 2008. For more information about Comtrend’s CPE for telecom and datacom use, visit www.comtrend.com.
About Comtrend Corp.:
With more than 6 million products installed, Comtrend is a leading global supplier of DSL equipment. Comtrend offers a broad array of leading edge, high-quality DSL products that embeds ADSL, ADSL2+, Bonded ADSL2+ and VDSL2 technologies to support; triple-play voice, video and data applications including IP-Video, VoIP, optional WiFi Drops and industry standard QoS with VLAN traffic assignment; IGMP snooping and IGMP proxy providing efficient traffic management and control in IP multicast applications. Comtrend is a global company with headquarters in Irvine, California, and offices in Madrid, Spain and Taipei, Taiwan. For more information, visit the Comtrend web site at:
www.comtrend.com.
Broadcom®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything® and PhyR™ are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States certain other countries and/or the EU. Wi-Fi® is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

ZyXEL Awarded Chunghwa Telecom's First VDSL2 Equipment Tender for 340,000 Lines

ZyXEL Awarded Chunghwa Telecom's First VDSL2 Equipment Tender for 340,000 Lines ZyXEL VDSL2 Switch and Gateway Solutions Deployed in Next Generation
FTTC/FTTB Network with MOD Services
ANAHEIM, CALIF., October 23 /CNW/ - ZyXEL Communications, the world's
leading broadband access solutions provider, announced that the company has
been awarded the VDSL2 equipment tender for the "Next Generation Access
Network" from Taiwan's largest incumbent telecom operator, Chunghwa Telecom
(CHT). This project, comprised of 340,000 lines, is CHT's first procurement of
VDSL2 equipment, and is also the largest and most complex order for a single
tender, in terms of deployment scale and product specifications in the world.
CHT qualified vendors based on the best product specifications, service
and support, as well as previous deployment experience. ZyXEL offered CHT a
VDSL2 solution that offered maximum flexibility in terms of features and
deployment options and excellent sales and technical support. After months of
rigorous reviews and tests, ZyXEL surpassed the other contenders and won the
contract.
"Winning several CHT tenders in a row is recognition of ZyXEL's technical
expertise and competitiveness," says Dr. Yuh-Long Chen, President of ZyXEL
Communications. "ZyXEL will take full advantage of its experience obtained
from major overseas VDSL projects to help CHT deploy an island-wide broadband
network. We are confident that our professional experience and knowledge will
lay a solid foundation for our relationship with CHT."
To meet the deployment needs of CHT's "Next Generation Access Network,"
ZyXEL will provide VDSL2 devices including 8 and 16 port VES1600 Series VDSL2
rack-mountable and wall-mountable environment hardened switches and the
IES5005 chassis based unit for remote FTTB/FTTC deployment and an integrated
VDSL2 gateway with built-in 4-port router and Wi-Fi. ZyXEL VDSL2 DSLAMs come
in different port densities and offer the choice between AC and DC power. With
high-bandwidth and high-performance throughput, robust support for QoS
(Quality of Service), network security and bandwidth management, the ZyXEL
VDSL2 solution offers key functionality enabling CHT to provide value-added
triple-play (data, voice and video) and interactive media services such as
Multimedia On Demand (MOD).

Ikanos Named Primary Vdsl2 Supplier For Westell's Ultraline Series3

Westell Limited, the convergence gateways and broadband access solutions specialist, today announced that Ikanos Communications, Inc.'s VDSL2 chipsets will power its initial UltraLine Series3 multiservice residential gateway. The UltraLine Series3 is currently being offered to major telecommunications companies and is a key component in major fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) deployments.
Westell selected Ikanos' Fx100100S-5 VDSL2 CPE chipset because it offers unrivalled triple play experience for consumers with integrated Quality of Service (QoS) and enhanced impulse noise protection schemes. Additionally, the Fx100100S-5 is the first chipset in the industry to be optimised for IPTV delivery.
"Ikanos' high-performance VDSL2 solution is ideal for broadband intensive applications," said Westell's Product Line Director, Scott Voegele. "The Fx100100S-5 chipset provides field-proven performance for FTTH applications and 100 Mbps symmetrical throughput. These features are absolute requirements for the carriers we are supporting."
Westell introduced the UltraLine Series3 earlier this year as one of the only line of residential gateways in the industry to support the most recent advances in wide area network (WAN) solutions. The UltraLine Series3 supports the highest rate VDSL2 (30a) profile and is capable of bi-directional 100 Mbps traffic over short distances. The higher throughput VDSL2 30a profile is ideal for multiple dwelling unit (MDU) applications and green field scenarios.
"Westell is one of the top broadband customer premises equipment manufacturers in the world, so it is a great privilege to work with them on this solution," said Vice President and General Manager for Ikanos' Gateway Products Group, Dean Westman. "Being selected for broadband deployment is a testament to the advanced capabilities of our VDSL2 chipsets."

Monday, October 22, 2007

New handheld tester for VDSL

(PRLEAP.COM) Ebermannstadt, Germany, Vierling will present its new VIT-V2 VDSL2 tester for the first time ever during the Vierling Autumn Fair from September 19-20, 2007. This handheld tester is used by service technicians to detect errors and configuration problems on VDSL lines. A laptop can be connected to read out important connection parameters. Using spectrum analysis software that will be available starting in December 2007, the problems underlying faulty VDSL lines can be studied in even greater detail. In the future, Vierling plans to further expand its line of handheld testers for xDSL and IP-based services. The VIT-V2 will begin shipping in November 2007.

Easy to use
The VIT-V2 VDSL2 tester is designed as a cost-effective and easy-to-use handheld tester. A service technician can connect the tester in place of the customer’s modem to see whether a VDSL connection is being set up properly. The technician can also connect the tester at line access points, splitters, street cabinets and main distribution frames to detect faulty home cabling, defective splitters or modems, and improperly configured DSLAM ports. Troubleshooting is quick and reliable based on a step-by-step approach. In all of these tests, the VIT-V2 is backwards-compatible with ADSL and ADSL2+.

Reading out connection parameters
The basic package shipped with the VIT-V2 includes the VIT-V2 Watch software. Once the VIT-V2 is connected to a laptop via the Ethernet port, the service technician can use the VIT-V2 Watch software to read out various connection parameters and display them graphically. Relevant parameters include the line attenuation (loss), noise margin, number of synchronization attempts, data rates in the upstream and downstream and the bit allocation.

Optional spectrum analysis software
Spectrum analysis software will be available as an option for the VIT-V2 starting in December 2007. Once the service technician connects the VIT V2 directly to a copper pair via the supplied protected measurement point (PMP) adapter, the technician can use the software to read out the spectral power density on a laptop. The spectrum analysis extends beyond the xDSL range. Colored spectrum graphs help to reveal interference in terms of the frequency and power density. “The VIT-V2 is useful for quickly recognizing deficiencies and taking suitable action”, noted Wolfgang Baschant, the product manager in charge of the VIT-V2 tester at Vierling. “The VIT-V2 can reveal common crosstalk from two Mbit/s lines at a glance, for example. This is a particularly frequent source of disruptions on DSL lines.”

One of the first suppliers worldwide
Vierling has enjoyed commercial success with its VIT DSL testers for ADSL and ADSL2+ since 2004. With the arrival of the VIT-V2 in November 2007, the company will extend its existing VIT product line to include a solution for high-speed DSL lines. “We are continuing to expand our range of DSL testers”, said Georg Herrmann, Director Product Line Measurement Solutions at Vierling. “With the VIT-V2, we are one of the first suppliers in the world to offer a handheld tester for the fastest DSL systems. In the future, we will continue to expand our product line with an emphasis on handheld testers for xDSL and IP-based services.”

Specifications:
- Dimensions: 100 x 48 x 200 mm
- Weight: approx. 650 g (with rechargeable batteries)
- Currently supports band plans 17A, 12B and 8B
- Max. download rate: 100 Mbit/s (valid for band plan 17A)
- Max. upload rate: 40 Mbit/s (valid for band plan 17A)

For graphical materials, please call +49 (0)9194-97-305 or send an e-mail to marketing@vierling.de.

Broadcom's VDSL2 Chipsets Power ZyXEL's IP DSLAM

Broadcom's VDSL2 Chipsets Power ZyXEL's IP DSLAM and CPE Equipment for Chunghwa Telecom's Next Generation Network

Broadcom(R) VDSL2 Chipsets for Central Office and Customer Premises Equipment Solutions Selected by ZyXEL and Chunghwa Telecom of Taiwan for Deployment in Next Generation IP Services Network

BERLIN, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Broadband World Forum 2007 -- Broadcom Corporation , a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that its VDSL2 and StrataXGS(R) Ethernet products have been qualified and selected by Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) of Taiwan for mass deployment in its next generation IP services network. Broadcom's powerful VDSL2 chipsets were originally selected by ZyXEL Corporation for incorporation in the ZyXEL VES-1600 and IES-5005 next generation access products. As a result of this successful engagement, Broadcom and ZyXEL have teamed together to provide VDSL2 IP DSLAM and customer premises equipment (CPE) products to Chunghwa Telecom for its next generation VDSL2 access network.

The selection by CHT provides decisive market validation of the Broadcom(R) VDSL2 technology and the ongoing collaboration between Broadcom and ZyXEL to develop best-in-class, standards-based solutions for Ethernet aggregation, ITU G.992.1/3/5 ADSL1/2/2+ and ITU G.993.2 VDSL2 access markets. The Chunghwa Telecom VDSL2 award adds to Broadcom's market leading position in ADSL2+/VDSL2 and Ethernet carrier access solutions.

Broadcom silicon and software bring unparalleled, standards-based solutions to the industry, addressing all aspects of sophisticated digital subscriber line (DSL)-based services with Wi-Fi(R), VoIP, Ethernet switching, multimedia over coaxial cable (MoCA) and video enabling features including its newly released PhyR(TM) impulse noise protection technology. ZyXEL will supply customer premises equipment including VDSL2 bridges, routers, wireless gateways and VoIP-enabled integrated access devices (IADs) based on Broadcom VDSL2, 10/100 Fast Ethernet switching, 802.11b/g and VoIP chipsets. Broadcom's unique integration of key VDSL2, local area network and VoIP technologies provides an unprecedented blend of performance and accelerated time-to-market across a complete CPE product portfolio.

"In the past, we have worked together with Broadcom to win ADSL DSLAM and Gigabit Ethernet switching contracts from worldwide telecom operators," says Dr. Yuh-Long Chen, President of ZyXEL. "It's truly a pleasure for us to work with Broadcom to win the CHT VDSL2 NGN project. To date, in terms of deployment scale and product specifications, this is the largest and most complex project of its kind in the world. Based on previous successful and extensive overseas VDSL2 deployments, ZyXEL is equipped to duplicate this success in establishing CHT's NGN network and to accelerate MOD and high definition VOD applications in the market. "

"Broadcom's third major win, the NGN deployment with CHT, is an outstanding example of our success in adding industry leading VDSL2 solutions to our broadly deployed and leading ADSL2+ position," said Greg Fischer, Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom's Carrier Access line of business. "CHT requires its vendors to meet a very high performance standard and is a showcase for advanced networks. Our performance, flexibility and competitiveness allow us to support ZyXEL in meeting the demanding requirements set forth by Chunghwa Telecom, a substantial achievement by both engineering teams to provide best-in-class solutions to our mutual customer."

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art, system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything(R).

Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2006 revenue of $3.67 billion, and holds over 2,200 U.S. and 900 foreign patents, more than 6,600 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video and data. Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at http://www.broadcom.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.

Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with VDSL2 chipset and StrataXGS(R) products include, but are not limited to, general economic and political conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address, including the volatility in the technology sector and semiconductor industry, trends in the broadband communications markets in various geographic regions, including seasonality in sales of consumer products into which our products are incorporated, and possible disruption in commercial activities related to terrorist activity or armed conflict in the United States and other locations; the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's technologies and products in the markets for central office and customer premise equipment applications; delays in the adoption and acceptance of industry standards in those markets; the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders and our ability, as well as the ability of our customers, to manage inventory; the gain or loss of a key customer, design win or order; our ability to scale our operations in response to changes in demand for our existing products and services or demand for new products requested by our customers; our ability to specify, develop or acquire, complete, introduce, market and transition to volume production new products and technologies in a cost-effective and timely manner; intellectual property disputes and customer indemnification claims and other types of litigation risk; the quality of our products and any remediation costs; changes in our product or customer mix; the volume of our product sales and pricing concessions on volume sales; the effectiveness of our expense and product cost control and reduction efforts; our ability to timely and accurately predict market requirements and evolving industry standards and to identify opportunities in new markets; problems or delays that we may face in shifting our products to smaller geometry process technologies and in achieving higher levels of design integration; our ability to retain, recruit and hire key executives, technical personnel and other employees in the positions and numbers, with the experience and capabilities, and at the compensation levels needed to implement our business and product plans; the risks and uncertainties associated with our international operations; competitive pressures and other factors such as the qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products; the timing of customer-industry qualification and certification of our products and the risks of non-qualification or non-certification; the availability and pricing of third party semiconductor foundry, assembly and test capacity and raw materials; fluctuations in the manufacturing yields of our third party semiconductor foundries and other problems or delays in the fabrication, assembly, testing or delivery of our products; the risks of producing products with new suppliers and at new fabrication and assembly facilities; the effects of natural disasters, public health emergencies, international conflicts and other events beyond our control; the level of orders received that can be shipped in a fiscal quarter; and other factors.

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason.

Broadcom(R), the pulse logo, Connecting everything(R), the Connecting everything logo, StrataXGS(R) and PhyR(TM) are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Wi-Fi(R) is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners

Ericsson Deploys Broadcom VDSL2 Technology for EDA Broadband Access Products

Ericsson Deploys Broadcom VDSL2 Technology for EDA Broadband Access Products
By Niladri Sekhar Nath
TMCnet Contributing Editor

Ericsson has integrated interoperable VDSL2 chipset from Broadcom (News - Alert) Corporation into its EDA Broadband Access product line. Thus, Ericsson aims to be among one of the first companies to introduce standards-based VDSL2 to help its customers introduce advanced triple-play services such as IPTV.

Broadcom's powerful BladeRunner DSL chipset offers an extensive range of capabilities that offer improved user experience for subscribers of telecommunications triple-play services. Ericsson's (News - Alert) EDA VDSL2 (very-high-bit-rate DSL) platform is based on that technology and can offer access speeds of up to 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) over existing copper networks facilitating simplified network structure and better cost-efficiency for operators.

By integrating Broadcom's technology, Ericsson has become one of the leading suppliers in the IP DSLAM market with solutions deployed globally in over 100 networks to date.

"Ericsson's adoption of our BladeRunner chipset is a strong validation of Broadcom's leadership in ADSL2+/VDSL2 and FTTx markets," said Greg Fischer, Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom's Carrier Access line of business. "Ericsson's customers can now accelerate mass deployment of triple- play services as a result of the flexibility of our ADSL2+ and VDSL2 solutions. These solutions will enable all types of deployments through deep fiber solutions, allowing Ericsson's customers to look forward to new IP services with improved performance and reduced service provisioning complexity and scalability issues."

Broadcom develops a range of broadband communications and consumer electronics system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions that enable voice, video and data services over residential wired and wireless networks. The solutions comprise video enabling features including its newly released PhyR impulse noise protection technology, and the existing seamless rate adaptation (SRA) and enhanced power and performance including firmware capabilities to optimize power, reach and spectral flexibility for all FTTx deployments.