Broadcom Introduces New Single-Port Gigabit Ethernet-over-Copper Transceiver, Slashing Power by 50 Percent.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 26, 2001

Fourth-Generation Transceiver Facilitates Deployment of Gigabit

Ethernet in Portable PCs, Gigabit Uplinks and

Gigabit Client Connections

Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq:BRCM), the leading provider of integrated circuits enabling broadband communications, today announced the Broadcom(R) BCM5421, a new Gigabit Ethernet-over-Copper Transceiver that uses advanced 0.13-micron CMOS process technology to deliver the industry's lowest power dissipation and lowest cost. This compact, cost-effective device, featuring total power dissipation of less than 1.0 watt, is an ideal solution for mobile applications, such as portable PCs, as well as network interface cards (NICs), Gigabit uplinks, and Gigabit interconnects.

The BCM5421 incorporates Broadcom's fourth generation Gigabit Ethernet transceiver technology, which is based on the field-proven architecture used in the BCM5400, BCM5401, BCM5411, BCM5402, and BCM5404 transceivers. The BCM5421 is also implemented in 0.13-micron CMOS technology, allowing it to benefit from the yield, cost and power dissipation improvements of this technology as it scales down to sub-0.1 micron geometries. Network equipment manufacturers shipping Gigabit Ethernet products based on the 54xx family of devices include 3Com Corporation, Accton, Alteon WebSystems, Asante Technologies, Cisco Systems, Dell Computer, D-Link, Enterasys Networks, Extreme Networks, Foundry Networks, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi Cable, Ixia Communications, Nortel Networks, Spirent Communications, SysKonnect, and others.

"The market price of Gigabit Ethernet NICs has recently dropped below $100, which is driving a broad upgrade to Gigabit speed in servers and desktop PCs, and expanding its deployment in the wiring closet and throughout the network," said Marty Colombatto, Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom's Networking Business Unit. "Broadcom has been leading the Gigabit transceiver market since its inception over two years ago, has delivered over 2.5 million ports to our customers, and has successfully produced four generations of transceivers that provide our customers with the lowest power, smallest footprint and lowest system cost. Our new BCM5421 takes the technology lead once again for single-port Gigabit transceivers. By offering pin-compatibility with the existing BCM5411, our customers can easily transition older designs to achieve lower power and lower cost."

"The pin-compatible design was a key criterion in our selection of this device as our next Gigabit PHY," said Jeffrey Catlin, General Manager Switching Products for Enterasys Networks. "This compatibility enabled us to complete design and debug of our next-generation platforms using the market proven BCM5411, yet take advantage of the cost and power reductions of the BCM5421."

The BCM5421 dissipates less than 1.0 watt of power, only half the power of previous Gigabit PHY transceivers, and can be operated using a single power supply voltage, an industry first. In addition, the BCM5421 incorporates Intelligent Power Management and Wake-on-LAN modes, which can dynamically reduce power by more than 60% from normal modes of operation. These low power features will enable NICs, mobile applications, and small form factor interconnects to comply with PCI 2.2 and PC99/2000 specifications.

The BCM5421's 0.13-micron Gigabit PHY core has already been proven in production in Broadcom's quad-port BCM5404 Gigabit Ethernet transceiver, which will enable a rapid production ramp for the BCM5421. The new device is manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), one of Broadcom's foundry partners. Broadcom and TSMC have worked collaboratively over the past two years to develop the mixed-signal modules that enable Broadcom to achieve the superior performance, lowest cost and lowest power in its 0.13-micron transceiver family.

"The announcement of Broadcom's newest Gigabit Transceiver adds an exclamation point to TSMC's 0.13-micron all copper process technology leadership and to the collaborative nature of our relationship with Broadcom," said Dr. Edward Ross, President, TSMC North America. "Our 0.13-micron, all-copper process has been in production since January of 2001 and has set a new level of excellence for the foundry industry. With tens of thousands of hours of experience in the development of this technology since January 2000, we are confident that TSMC can deliver the volumes necessary to provide our customers with a significant competitive advantage in their respective markets."

The BCM5421 incorporates all three Ethernet speeds -- 10, 100 and 1000 Megabits per second (Mbps) at half and full duplex -- with standards-based auto-negotiation to ensure compatibility with all existing Ethernet network equipment operating over existing legacy Category 5 copper cable plants. Broadcom's Ethernet@Wirespeed(TM) technology enables equipment manufactured using the BCM5421 to automatically select the maximum speed possible based on channel conditions, even over impaired cable plant, regardless of the maximum speed advertised by the end-equipment. The new transceiver is fully compliant with the IEEE 802.3, 802.3u and 802.3ab Ethernet standards. It also offers the industry's highest level of margin in excess of IEEE specifications for noise cancellation and transmission jitter, Near End Cross Talk (NEXT), Far End Cross Talk (FEXT) and Echo, ensuring consistent and reliable operation.

For maximum flexibility and to lower overall system cost, the BCM5421 transceiver supports the RGMII (Reduced Gigabit Media Independent Interface) and RTBI (Reduced Ten-Bit Interface) in addition to standard MII, GMII and TBI interfaces. The RGMII and RTBI interfaces require less than half the number of pins to interface to a MAC or switch ASIC, thereby simplifying system and board design. The BCM5421's RGMII interface is based on the proven design incorporated in Broadcom's earlier generation BCM5402 and BCM5411, the first Gigabit transceivers in the industry to offer these reduced pin-count interfaces.

Broadcom's exclusive cable plant diagnostic capability allows users, IT managers and networking equipment manufacturers to remotely analyze the quality and attributes of the cable, thereby avoiding unnecessary service calls or equipment returns. Built-in diagnostics including a link quality indication LED help pinpoint the cause of network malfunctions without deploying field service personnel or bringing down the network. The device also supports automatic detection and correction of wiring pair swaps, pair skew or pair polarity problems.

Price and Availability

The BCM5421 Gigabit Ethernet-over-Copper Transceiver is currently sampling to Broadcom's development partners and is priced at $25 in quantities of 1000 units.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is the leading provider of highly integrated silicon solutions that enable broadband communications and networking of voice, video and data services. Using proprietary technologies and advanced design methodologies, Broadcom designs, develops and supplies complete system-on-a-chip solutions and related applications for digital cable set-top boxes and cable modems, high-speed local, metropolitan and wide area and optical networks, home networking, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), carrier access, residential broadband gateways, direct broadcast satellite and terrestrial digital broadcast, digital subscriber lines (xDSL), wireless communications, System I/O(TM) server solutions and network processing. Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and may be contacted at 949-450-8700 or at www.broadcom.com.

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Reform Act of 1995:

This release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, and reflect management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by us based upon information available to us at this time. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will" and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date hereof. Such information is subject to change, and we will not necessarily inform you of such changes. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.

Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with the BCM5421 product and our other Gigabit Ethernet transceivers include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address, including the recent significant economic slowdown in the technology sector and semiconductor industry; the timing and successful completion of technology and product development through volume production; the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's technologies and products in the markets for Gigabit Ethernet networking; delays in the adoption and acceptance of industry standards in those markets; the timing of customer-industry qualification and certification of our products and the risks of non-qualification or non-certification; the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders; the loss of a key customer; the volume of our product sales and pricing concessions on volume sales; the effectiveness of our expense and product cost control and reduction efforts; changes in our product or customer mix; the qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products; intellectual property disputes and customer indemnification claims and other types of litigation risk; the availability and pricing of foundry and assembly 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; our ability to specify, develop or acquire, complete, introduce, market and transition to volume production new products and technologies in a timely manner; the effects of new and emerging technologies; the risks of producing products with new suppliers and at new fabrication and assembly facilities; problems or delays that we may face in shifting our products to smaller geometry process technologies and in achieving higher levels of design integration; the risks and uncertainties associated with our international operations; our ability to retain and hire key executives, technical personnel and other employees in the numbers, with the capabilities, and at the compensation levels needed to implement our business and product plans; the quality of our products and any remediation costs; the effects of natural disasters and other events beyond our control; the level of orders received that can be shipped in a fiscal quarter; and other factors.

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