Broadcom(R) Energy Efficient Networking Lowers Power Consumption and Reduces Operating Costs

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced a range of new silicon devices that support the Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) IEEE P802.3az draft standard. Broadcom is leading an industry-wide effort to deliver networking products that consume less power with the introduction of new Ethernet controller and physical layer (PHY) device solutions.

Network equipment of all types can benefit from lower power consumption that reduces energy costs and lowers overall operating costs for IT organizations. Broadcom provides these enhanced power savings through Broadcom® Energy Efficient Networking -- a set of standards-friendly features, including AutogrEEEn(TM) technology, that extends the power saving capabilities of its EEE draft-compliant products.

Highlights/Key Facts:

• The IEEE P802.3az specification provides for energy savings at the PHY level when the network link is idle. Network infrastructure components can take advantage of power savings when the network stack experiences periods of inactivity, starting with both sides of the media access controller (MAC)/PHY interface, when a port is in EEE mode. In multi-port systems, the savings could be increased further by optimizing shared resources.
• Broadcom Energy Efficient Networking provides additional power savings by:
  • Supporting the enhanced Layer 2 savings mechanism (currently optional for triple speed products and mandatory for 10 Gigabit speeds in the IEEE 802.3az specification).
  • Implementing comprehensive control policies in Broadcom PHY and controller chips that allow for optimized, customizable and enhanced energy savings for a wide variety of applications.
• Broadcom Energy Efficient Networking implements energy savings metrics that allow Broadcom end-customers to quantify the savings that are realized during operation.
• A Broadcom EEE draft-compliant PHY lowers power consumption by up to 70% during periods of low traffic utilization when compared to a PHY without EEE implemented. The overall power consumption is reduced on products including switches, storage systems, servers and personal computers that have a Broadcom EEE-enabled PHY in their design.
• Broadcom's AutoGrEEEn(TM) technology allows a Broadcom EEE-enabled PHY to be in EEE mode when interfacing with a non-EEE enabled MAC, without requiring changes to the non-EEE device. This provides system designers additional flexibility to take advantage of EEE technology and realize power savings today for their applications.

Product Highlights/Key Facts - Ethernet Controllers:

• Broadcom is announcing a range of controller products for the PC and server markets that support the EEE draft-standard:
  • BCM57781: a highly integrated Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) controller targeted for PC applications. It integrates both the Ethernet MAC and PHY on a single chip to provide wired network connectivity for desktop, notebook and netbook systems.
  • BCM57785 and BCM57765: a highly integrated GbE controller and 5-in-1 memory card reader supporting the latest standard for memory cards. The device is targeted for PC applications where low power consumption, low cost and small board space are critical.
  • BCM5718: a dual-port GbE controller targeted for server and workstation applications supporting a PCI Express® v2.0-compliant host interface. It provides a rich feature-set with unparalleled power savings while maintaining the most efficient cost and board space requirements.

Product Highlights/Key Facts - Ethernet PHYs:

• Broadcom's BCM84823 PHY incorporates the EEE draft-standard and provides substantial power savings over current PHY products in the market.
  • BCM84823: a highly integrated 65nm, dual-port 10GBASE-T GbE PHY with XFI and XAUI MAC interface options. This is Broadcom's first EEE-enabled 10GBASE-T PHY based on 65nm technology, and its dual-port configuration enables high density top-of-rack (ToR) switch and server applications.
• Broadcom's EEE-draft compliant products, BCM57781, BCM57785, BCM57765, BCM5718 and BCM84823, are now sampling to early access customers. Pricing is available upon request.

Supporting Quotes:

Nariman Yousefi, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Networking Group, Broadcom Corporation

"Broadcom has incorporated the IEEE P802.3az (EEE) draft standard into its product portfolio and we have differentiated our solution by including Broadcom Energy Efficient Networking. These features go the extra mile to extend the benefits of EEE across the entire network."

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Other Supporting Resources:

More information about Broadcom Energy Efficient Networking

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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 2008 revenue of $4.66 billion, and holds over 3,650 U.S. and over 1,450 foreign patents, more than 7,750 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video, data and multimedia.

A FORTUNE 500® company, 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.

Cautions regarding Forward Looking Statements:

All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.

Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with Broadcom networking infrastructure solutions that support the Energy Efficient Ethernet draft-standard, but are not limited to:

• General economic and political conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address, including the volatility in the technology sector and semiconductor industry;
• The rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's technologies and products in the markets;
• Delays in the adoption and acceptance of industry standards in those markets;
• Our ability to timely and accurately predict market requirements and evolving industry standards and to identify opportunities in new markets;
• The timing of customer-industry qualification and certification of our products and the risks of non-qualification or non-certification.

Additional factors that may cause Broadcom's actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to the list that can be found at http://www.broadcom.com/press/additional_risk_factors/Q42009.php.

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.

Broadcom®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything®, the Connecting everything logo and AutoGrEEEn(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.

    Trade Press
    Gennis Lafayette
    Senior Manager, Corporate Communications
    408-543-3413
    gennisl@broadcom.com

    Investor Relations
    T. Peter Andrew
    Vice President, Corporate Communications
    949-926-5663
    andrewtp@broadcom.com

SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Enterprise Networking

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