Conexant Introduces OptiPHY Family of Complete Physical-Layer Solutions for Optical Networks Powering the Internet Infrastructure.

Business Editors and High-Tech Writers

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 2000

OptiPHY Family Extends Conexant's Existing Fiber-Optic Transceiver

Portfolio By Adding New Physical-Layer Framing And Multiplexing

Devices To Create A Complete Optical-Networking Solution From The

Fiber To The System Interface

Conexant Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:CNXT) Wednesday introduced the first in its planned family of OptiPHY physical-layer (PHY) framing and multiplexing solutions.

The new OptiPHY devices will span the full range of Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) PHY applications from OC-3 (155 Mbps) to OC-192 (10 Gbps) data rates, while extending Conexant's complete line of optical networking transceiver and cross-point solutions across the same full spectrum of data rates.

All of Conexant's current and planned PHY and transceiver solutions will now be offered to customers as comprehensive solutions, and will be marketed and sold under the new OptiPHY brand name. The new PHY devices are the latest additions to the family and perform critical tasks related to combining low-speed circuits into higher-speed circuits, so that significantly higher volumes of data traffic can be transported using the SONET transmission standard.

This ultimately will enable service providers to support ever-increasing Internet traffic. Conexant will continue to expand its OptiPHY family as part of its efforts to provide one of the industry's most comprehensive portfolios of fiber-optic networking devices.

The new OptiPHY products are the OptiPHY-M155 (155 Mbps OC-3/STM-1) and OptiPHY-M622 (622 Mbps OC-12/STM-4) SONET/SDH framer/multiplexers. These products provide ideal PHY solutions for SONET/SDH access devices, routers, add/drop multiplexers and cross connects.

They support both American SONET and European SDH transmission standards, and can be used to develop a single software-configurable equipment design for both U.S. and international markets.

"These are the first in what will be a comprehensive family of PHY products for today's rapidly growing optical networking market," said Marek Tlalka, SONET/SDH product line manager with Conexant's Network Access Division.

"With the complete OptiPHY family, we will offer our customers the unique advantage of providing both PHY and transceiver products, all from a single supplier, spanning the full range of data rates and international transmission standards."

Conexant's new PHY devices will be joined later this year by companion PHY products and next-generation transceivers capable of supporting OC-48 (2.5 Gbps) and OC-192 (10 Gbps) data rates, which will expand the total OptiPHY solution. In addition, Conexant's OptiPHY products will provide the foundation for a family of Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) to SONET/SDH mapper product solutions that Conexant plans to release in the third quarter of 2000.

This family will allow customers to consolidate all framing, mapping and multiplexing functions into the industry's highest-density solutions for channelizing OC-12/STM-4 data traffic down to DS1/E1 rates for IP transport. Finally, Conexant's planned PHY family will also complement the company's growing line of network processors, allowing customers to develop high-speed, high-density, flexible programmable solutions for wide area network applications.

As highly integrated multiport devices, the OptiPHY-M155 and OptiPHY-M622 solutions perform SONET/SDH processing, overhead termination and multiplexer/demultiplexer functions. The OptiPHY-M155 performs these functions for a single Synchronous Transport Signal (STS-3) or Synchronous Transport Module (STM-1) data stream.

The OptiPHY-M622 is a multiport device supporting a single STS-12/STM-4 or four STS-3/STM-1 data streams. Both devices include clock and data recovery (CDR) functionality allowing for a direct connection to optical modules.

SONET/SDH has emerged as the leading backbone transmission technology, according to market research firm IDC. "The market for SONET/SDH ASSPs grew more than 50 percent from 1998 to 1999, and is expected to grow another 40 percent during the coming year," said Kimberly Funasaki, research analyst for IDC. "Conexant's OptiPHY family will enable the company to gain an even larger piece of the rapidly-growing pie."

Technical Information

Each port in Conexant's OptiPHY framers/multiplexers enables the full-duplex overhead processing of SONET/SDH data streams for section, line and path layers, and also enables framing, alarm detection/insertion, and bit interleaved parity (BIP) error detection.

The OptiPHY framers/multiplexers also support automatic protection switching (APS) via full K1/K2 byte access, and are fully compatible with Conexant's APS protocol stack software package.

Other features include an embedded CDR unit that is compliant with SONET/SDH jitter requirements, plus alarm indicators, status monitoring and error counters, all using maskable interrupts for each of the status indications. The OptiPHY framers/multiplexers support E1, E2 CODEC-compatible interfaces and include a generic 8-bit microprocessor interface for access to control and status registers.

On the drop side, the interface is a byte-wide data and clock interface for STS-3 streams in Conexant's SONET Interleave Bus (SI-Bus) interface format. This interface provides the ability to pass payload information to nearby processing elements in STS-3, STM-1, STM-3, AU-4 or AU-3 formats.

The OptiPHY-M155 can be ordered by specifying part number CX29600, and the OptiPHY-M622 can be ordered by specifying part number CX29610. Both framer/multiplexers are packaged in 416-pin 27x27mm super ball grid arrays (SBGAs), and are priced at $70 for the CX29600 and $225 for the CX29610, in OEM quantities of 10,000. Sampling will begin late this quarter, with volume production scheduled by the end of the calendar year.

About Conexant Systems

With a revenue run-rate of approximately $2 billion per year, Conexant is the world's largest independent company focused exclusively on providing semiconductor solutions for communications electronics. With more than 30 years of experience in developing communications technology, the company draws upon its expertise in mixed-signal processing to deliver integrated systems and semiconductor products for a broad range of communications applications.

These products facilitate communications worldwide through wireline voice and data communications networks, cordless and cellular wireless telephony systems, personal imaging devices and equipment, and emerging cable and wireless broadband communications networks.

The company aligns its business into five product platforms: Network Access, Wireless Communications, Digital Infotainment, Personal Imaging, and Personal Computing. Conexant is a member of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 Indices. For more information, visit Conexant at www.conexant.com.

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