Octal PHY extends the reach of Ethernet.
Press Release Summary:
Eight-port CMOS octal physical layer devices facilitates 10/100 Ethernet operatation over distances up to 500 m on 1, 2, or 4 wire pairs of Category 5 or telephony grade cabling. Device also enables BroadR-Reach(TM) ports to support 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, and 1000BASE-T, IEEE 802.3-compliant technologies. It includes 8 SGMII serial media access controller interfaces and 8 copper ports.
Original Press Release:
Broadcom Announces Breakthrough Octal PHY That Extends Ethernet Reach to 500 Meters on Category 5 and Telephone Grade Cables
LAS VEGAS, Interop 2007, May 21 -- Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced an eight-port octal physical layer (PHY) device that extends the reach of Ethernet over twisted pair cables. The new 65 nanometer CMOS octal PHY, featuring Broadcom® BroadR-Reach(TM) technology, will be demonstrated this week at Interop 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The device provides added flexibility to standard Ethernet cables by enabling 10/100 Ethernet to operate over extended distances (up to 500 meters) on one, two or four wire pairs of Category 5 (CAT 5) or telephony grade cabling.
BroadR-Reach technology supports traditional Ethernet services and other network infrastructures that require longer than 100 meters reach or operation over a single twisted wire pair (such as hotels, colleges/universities, convention centers, airports and train stations, to name a few). The extended reach will also broaden the range of cable installations and can be used for new IP services and applications such as broadband access, voice over IP, wireless access points and surveillance cameras.
In contrast to previous technologies that extended the range of Ethernet over twisted pair, Broadcom's new approach enables every BroadR-Reach port to also support IEEE 802.3-compliant technologies such as 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX and 1000BASE-T. As a result, BroadR-Reach provides interoperability and connectivity to standard 10/100/1000BASE-T devices over distances up to 100 meters while extending 10Mbps (Megabits per second) and 100Mbps operations to 500 meters. Additionally, BroadR-Reach technology works with Power over Ethernet (PoE) to provide a new generation of IP services and applications such as security camera surveillance.
BroadR-Reach technology addresses key issues that affect deployment of IP services in today's enterprise. For example, since many traditional digital PBX phone systems use twisted pair cables that will not support standard IEEE 802.3 Ethernet PHY technology, BroadR-Reach would be a good solution for migrating to IP-based telephony systems by leveraging the current infrastructure. Also, in new installations, some devices such as wireless access points (WAPs) and surveillance cameras may not be conveniently located within the standard 100 meter range of horizontal wiring in structured cabling systems. For these applications, BroadR-Reach provides IT managers with additional flexibility in connecting devices over distances that would otherwise require fiber optic cabling and expensive optical transceivers.
"We are very excited about our BroadR-Reach technology that will enable our customers to broaden their Ethernet product applications," said Nariman Yousefi, a Vice President and General Manager in Broadcom's Enterprise Networking Group. "BroadR-Reach enables new IP services by extending the reach of Ethernet with just a change to the PHY. Since BroadR-Reach ports also support standard 10/100/1000BASE-T configurations, our customers can easily offer upgraded products with no compromise to the features, performance and interoperability of their existing switch technologies."
Announced today is the Broadcom BCM54880 octal Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) PHY featuring BroadR-Reach technology, which will be demonstrated throughout the week at Interop 2007. The BroadR-Reach demonstration will showcase the extended reach of Ethernet over both Category 5 and telephony grade cables with PoE-enabled security cameras connected to the BCM54880 PHY.
Technical Information
The BCM54880 is the first member of Broadcom's GbE BroadR-Reach family of copper PHY products and includes eight complete 10/100/1000BASE-T and BroadR- Reach transceivers integrated on a single 65nm CMOS chip. The BCM54880 includes eight SGMII serial media access controller interfaces and eight copper ports, whereby each copper port supports one, two or four twisted pair line connections.
The BCM54880 not only meets the requirement of the IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3u and IEEE802.3ab standards, but also supports the extended BroadR-Reach operation over CAT3 and CAT5 twisted pair wiring. When in BroadR-Reach mode of operation, the BCM54880 can operate full duplex at either the rate of 10Mbps over one single 500 meter telephone grade twisted pair cable or at a rate of 100Mbps over four pair CAT5 twisted pair wiring.
The BCM54880 also features advanced hardware accelerated cable checker diagnostic software that detects cable length or cable plant impairments. The information obtained from the diagnostic software can be used in conjunction with OEM software to put the BCM54880 in either BroadR-Reach mode or normal Ethernet mode of operation.
Broadcom's Gigabit Ethernet networking product portfolio includes switching products, transceivers, security processors and controllers for servers, workstations, desktops and mobile PCs, providing the industry's most comprehensive portfolio of Gigabit Ethernet solutions. Broadcom Gigabit Ethernet networking solutions are the most widely deployed and field proven in the industry.
Availability
The BCM54880 BroadR-Reach PHY device is sampling to early access customers.
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®.
Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2006 revenue of $3.67 billion, and holds over 2,000 U.S. and 800 foreign patents, more than 6,000 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 www.broadcom.com.
Broadcom®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything®, the Connecting everything logo and BroadR-Reach(TM) are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
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Vice President, Corporate Communications 949-926-5663 andrewtp@broadcom.com CONTACT: Media, Scott Harlin, Public Relations Manager, +1-949-926-5226, sharlin@broadcom.com, or Technical, Ali Abaye, Ph.D., Senior Product Line Manager, +1-949-926-7339, aabaye@broadcom.com, or Investors, T. Peter Andrew, Vice President, Corporate Communications, +1-949-926-5663, andrewtp@broadcom.com, all of Broadcom Corporation
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