Davicom Semiconductor Introduces New Low-Cost, Highly Integrated Fast Ethernet Chip.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 24, 1997--

New DM9181 Chip Enables Manufacturers to Develop

Low-Cost Fast Ethernet Hubs and Repeaters

Davicom Semiconductor Inc. today announced a new low-priced member of its Galaxy line of integrated Fast Ethernet chips, providing hardware manufacturers with a more cost-effective way to build high-performance Fast Ethernet products.

The DM9181 Fast Ethernet Phy Transceiver, priced 30 percent lower than Davicom's previous lowest-priced offering, leverages the company's success in chip integration and manufacturing. Additionally, the chip enables manufacturers to bring to market quickly and easily Fast Ethernet hubs and repeaters.

At under $7.50 in volume quantities, the DM9181 establishes yet another industry-low price point for Fast Ethernet control devices. When Davicom introduced the Galaxy line to the market earlier in 1997, the chips were among the first devices to fully integrate the two key functions that were traditionally the domain of separate Fast Ethernet chips: the analog transceiver and the digital physical layer.

That integration benefited hardware manufacturers, as they needed only one low-cost chip for functions that once required two or more. Several hardware manufacturers have since designed Galaxy chips into their Fast Ethernet product offerings.

"Davicom's objective continues to be providing customers with the highest-performance communications solutions at the lowest price, and the DM9181 is another point on that continuum," said Tony Ho, vice president of the LAN business unit at Davicom. "We're constantly challenged to design chips with high levels of functionality and that can be manufactured efficiently. We met that challenge with the DM9181, and, as a result, we're able to offer customers a dramatically lower price for Fast Ethernet chips."

The DM9181's introduction comes as the market for Fast Ethernet hardware, into which the chip is designed, becomes increasingly competitive, and as the number of companies in that market put price pressure on the entire scope of Fast Ethernet products. Industry analysts have predicted that several sectors of the Fast Ethernet hardware market will grow at more than 100 percent in 1997.

Unique Architecture Streamlines Networking Operation

Using high-performance CMOS technology, the DM9181 employs a unique architecture that seamlessly blends the diverse transceiver and digital physical layer functions. Combining these elements into a single chip delivers a more streamlined networking operation and lowers the overall cost of Fast Ethernet products.

Among the DM9181's key features are:

-- Integrated design, reducing chip count and cost of 100MB

Ethernet products -- MII interface support, allowing for flexible product design -- Built-in 100BaseTX filter, reducing complexity and cost of

Fast Ethernet products -- Support for 100Base-FX fibre applications -- CMOS technology, making mass production of chips simple and

economical -- Pure analog transceiver design, yielding stable operation in

varying temperatures and network-cable length (tested to 145

meters)

Availability and Pricing

The DM9181 is available now at under $7.50 in volume quantities. The chip is offered in either a 100-pin quad-flat pack (QFP) and optional low-profile (LQFP) package.

Davicom Semiconductor Inc. (www.davicom8.com) develops data, audio, video and Internet/Intranet communications integrated circuits for the global market. The company currently markets Fast Ethernet chips and has other advanced communications products in development, including quad-port phy transceiver Gigabit Ethernet chips.

CONTACT: Editorial Contact:

Jerry Steach

Commonground Communications

415/967-3071

[e-mail]

or

Company Contact:

Tony Ho

Davicom Semiconductor Inc.

408/736-8600, ext. 225

[e-mail]