Ikanos Enters VDSL2 Market with New Family of Programmable Chipsets for Central Office and Remote Terminal Deployments.

FREMONT, Calif. -- Ikanos Communications

--New Chipsets Highly Programmable for VDSL2, VDSL, VLR, ADSL2+, and ADSL

--Ikanos Technology Interoperates with Existing VDSL CPE and ADSL CPE

--Dual-Mode Programming Allows Legacy Networks to Seamlessly Migrate from ATM to IP On a Per-Port Basis

Ikanos Communications today entered the market for Very-High-Bit-Rate Digital Subscriber Line 2 (VDSL2) equipment with two new programmable chipsets, the SmartLeap(TM) 9400 for Central Office (CO) and Remote Terminal (RT) equipment and the CleverConnect(TM) 600 for Customer Premise Equipment (CPE). Ikanos, a leading developer of fiber-fast broadband-over-copper solutions, has already deployed 100 Mbps broadband solutions for MxUs and Fiber Extension on carrier networks in Asia. Ikanos' new suite of chipsets, which builds on that experience, enables the global carrier market to offer higher-performance services such as High Definition TV (HDTV) and the triple play of voice, data, and video to surpass the cable competition. To ease carrier migration to higher speeds, the new solution is interoperable with VDSL and ADSL CPE equipment.

The proposed VDSL2 standard by ITU-T brings convergence between ADSL, ADSL2+, and VDSL. VDSL2 leverages the strengths of these technologies to achieve the highest performance and longest reach for maximum customer coverage.

"Ikanos has leveraged its experience in the VDSL market to help ease the migration to VDSL2. We believe our chipsets will enable vendors' carrier customers to take advantage of VDSL2 using equipment that is already deployed in carrier networks for VDSL," said Richard Sekar, vice president of marketing at Ikanos. "Ikanos is also committed to technology based on a single, unified standard, because we believe global standardization will help equipment vendors lower their manufacturing costs and accelerate deployment of VDSL2 throughout the world."

The new, highly integrated VDSL2 chipsets for CO/RT and CPE include the following:

The SmartLeap(TM) 9400 VDSL2 Chipset for CO/RT has three main elements:

--8-port Burst-Mode Engine (BME) that integrates an embedded 150 MIPS processor, ATM and IP (PTM, EFM 64/65) interfaces and DSP function.

--4-port Analog Front End (AFE) with analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters (ADC/DAC).

--1-port Integrated Front End (IFE) that integrates line drivers, capacitors, filters and other discrete components. The IFE integrates the function of more than 120 discrete elements.

The CleverConnect (TM) 600 VDSL2 Chipset for CPE consists of two chips:

--1-port BME that integrates ATM, IP, DSP functions along with ADC/DAC.

--1-port IFE.

Programmable ATM or IP on Per-Port Basis

The SmartLeap 9400 and the CleverConnect 600 support dual-mode programmability that enables carriers to select ATM or IP on a per-port basis. With the Ikanos solution, broadband equipment can be programmed to support VDSL2, VDSL, and VDSL long range (VLR) in both ATM or IP modes, as well as ADSL and ADSL2+ in ATM mode. This powerful dual-mode feature ensures that carriers can migrate from legacy ATM to IP network without a forklift upgrade.

"DASAN Networks built the first standards-compliant VDSL-DMT equipment with Ikanos' VDSL chipsets for deployment in Korea," said Mr. Minwoo Nam, president and CEO of DASAN Networks, Inc. "The new Ikanos VDSL2 chipsets incorporate features and technologies that will enable DASAN to stay at the forefront of the VDSL market in Korea."

Ikanos Continues to Lead Market

"Once again, Ikanos is upping the ante in the VDSL market," said Sam Lucero, industry analyst, InStat/MDR. "The company is not just a very early entrant in the 100 Mbps VDSL2 market; it's also a very smart entrant, developing backward compatible, programmable chipsets that make it easier to migrate from ADSL, ADSL2+, and VDSL to VDSL2 and from ATM to IP."

Ikanos is a leading developer of VDSL chipsets; to date, Ikanos has shipped more than four million ports since volume production began at the end of 2002. Ikanos' programmable chipset technology supports equipment in several carrier networks around the world, notably in Japan, Korea, and Europe.

Unified VDSL2 Standard Accelerates Carrier Deployment

Ikanos actively supports the proposed unified VDSL2 standard, which is based on the Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT) line-coding method, now under review by the ITU-T. A single VDSL2 standard would offer equipment vendors and carriers a number of advantages. DMT is already the standard for Asymmetric DSL (ADSL) and VDSL deployments by carriers worldwide, so products employing VDSL2 will fit seamlessly into existing infrastructures and ease the migration from ADSL to VDSL and VDSL2.

Price and Availability

Early samples of Ikanos' VDSL2 products will be available in the first quarter of 2005 for $20 to $25 per port, based on volume.

About Ikanos Communications

Founded in 1999 and based in the Silicon Valley, Ikanos Communications develops and markets highly programmable chipsets that enable fiber-fast broadband access over carriers' existing copper lines with transmission rates up to 100 Mbps. Ikanos' silicon solutions enable OEM equipment vendors to serve many different customers while accelerating time to market and reducing costs.

(C) 2004 by Ikanos Communications. Ikanos Communications, Ikanos, the Ikanos logo design; Fx SmartLeap and CleverConnect are trademarks of Ikanos Communications. All Rights Reserved.