Full-Speed ADSL Chipset Taps CPU's Processing Power

Claimed to be the first such devices optimized for PCs, notebooks, workstations, PDAs and Internet appliances, the full-speed Scalable ADSL Modem (SAM) chipset uses a host-based architecture that enables part of its ADSL processing to be performed on the unused cycles of a system's host CPU. By using this patented technology, full-speed (8 Mbps downstream, 640 Kbps upstream) asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) modems reportedly can be built at half the cost and power dissipation of other solutions-- in addition, the chipset can achieve upstream rates as high as 768 Kbps.
The chipset is made up of the i80134 analog front-end chip in a 64-pin LQFP and the i90816 digital controller in a 160-pin PQFP, plus host software for doing the ADSL processing on the system's CPU. The software comes on a CD-ROM as assembled Windows 95, 98, 2000 and NT4.0 code. And the SAM chipset automatically detects all ADSL central office standards, including ITU G.dmt, ANSI T1.413 Issue 2 and ITU G.lite. The set plus software costs $25 each/1000.