Low Cost ADSL Ethernet Chipset Exceeds Performance Standards

Said to outpace industry performance standards, the HomeBASE ADSL Ethernet chipset promises to address the cost and performance issues of the ADSL customer premise equipment (CPE) market. Incorporating the chipset into a HomeBASE evaluation reference modem provides all the hardware and software needed for either bridge or router mode operations. The modem delivers rates of 8 Mb/s downstream and 800 kb/s upstream in both bridge and router mode when sending 64-byte short packets full duplex. Additionally, the reference modem is in compliance with both the DSL Forum’s TR-048 performance test and the new rate/reach limits being proposed by U.S. telephone companies. It is interoperable with industry standard DSLAMs and compliant with all ADSL standards, including G.dmt and G.lite, with support for Annex A and B. Other features of the modem include integrated 14-bit linear converters, a 5V line driver, a line receiver and a digitally controlled crystal oscillator (DCXO). Power consumption is less than 1 W. The ADSL network processor integrates the DMT engine, an ARM9 processor, a hardware-based ATM SAR, and a 10/100 Ethernet controller with Scatter/Gather DMA, an SDRAM controller, and a proprietary bus bridge architecture. The chipset is available now, priced at $23 each/10,000. LSI LOGIC, Milpitas, CA. (408) 433-7912.