Broadcom is First to Market With the Industry's Lowest Power 40nm 10GBASE-T PHYs

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced the availability of the world's first samples of low power 10GBASE-T transceivers produced in 40 nanometer (nm) process technology. The new Broadcom® family of 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) physical layer (PHY) transceivers support IEEE 802.3 10GBASE-T operation over 100 meters of shielded or unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable, and RJ45 connectors and are available in either a dual port or quad port configuration. The advanced 40nm process technology and power-savings design techniques have lowered the operating power below 4 watts per port, significantly lower than competitive solutions designed in 65nm or 90nm technologies.

Highlights/Key Facts:

• As server processing speeds quickly outstrip 1 Gigabit Ethernet (1GbE) bandwidth, 10GbE is fast becoming the required connectivity for high performance computing and storage.
• Market research from Dell'Oro Group indicates that over two million 10GbE ports were shipped in 2009, and that 10 Gigabit (10G) copper connections will potentially exceed 14 million ports by 2013.(1) This anticipated growth is fueled in part by increases in server input/output (I/O) speed and storage I/O speed, as well as the additional throughput needed for the aggregation of 1GbE links.
• The Broadcom 40nm 10GBASE-T transceiver family includes the BCM84833 (two ports) and BCM84834 (four ports). This family addresses the need for 10 Gbps connectivity bandwidth and includes the following capabilities:
  • Either two or four independent 10GBASE-T ports, providing a complete PHY solution operating at less than 4 watts of power per port over 100 meters of Category 6A UTP or Category 7 cables.
  • Offers XAUI and XFI ports to enable connection to external 10 Gbps fiber optic modules for dual media (copper / fiber) applications.  
  • Supports Broadcom's AutogrEEEn™ mode that further reduces power consumption to less than 2 watts per port when network traffic is light.
  • Provides dual port or quad port configurations that reduce the number of required devices in a design when compared to single port transceivers. It also uses less board space and provides better airflow than competing solutions that have to use multiple chips to achieve similar functionality.
  • Is ideally suited for high-density switch and server designs and will help drive the adoption of 10 Gbps twisted pair connectivity in data centers and enterprise networks.
  • Supports auto-negotiation between 10 Gbps and legacy Ethernet speeds to enable compatibility with already installed Ethernet technology. This provides IT managers with a solution that meets current 10 Gbps bandwidth connectivity requirements while maintaining complete backwards compatibility and interoperability with existing equipment that uses 1GbE or Fast Ethernet connectivity. End users can now deploy servers with 10GBASE-T while maintaining connectivity with any installed Ethernet switch, and upgrade their network as time and budgets allow.
• The Broadcom 40nm 10GBASE-T transceiver family is now available in sample quantities to early access customers.
• Broadcom's comprehensive PHY product portfolio includes support for all 10G physical layer standards including 10GBASE-T, 10GBASE-KR, 10GBASE-LRM, 10GBASE-SR/LR and 10GBASE-ER/ZR.

Supporting Quotes:

Kevin Brown, Senior Director & General Manager, Broadcom's PHY line of business

"Applications such as storage and computing benefit significantly from 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, which provides substantial performance gains versus 1GbE technology. Broadcom has established itself as a leader in 10 Gigabit Ethernet silicon in both the 10GbE controller and 10GbE switch space. To help accelerate the market transition to 10GbE Broadcom is now the first in the industry to deliver samples of low power 40nm 10GBASE-T PHYs that operate at approximately 3.5 watts per port. In addition to the power savings provided by 40nm, our AutogrEEEn technology also delivers a dramatic power reduction under light traffic conditions providing power and cost savings to the end user."

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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, one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2009 revenue of $4.49 billion, holds more than 3,800 U.S. and 1,550 foreign patents, and has more than 7,800 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.  Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, references to our 40nm 10GBASE-T transceivers driving the adoption of 10 Gbps twisted pair connectivity, the demand for 10GBASE-T physical layer transceivers, and our position in that market. 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 the BCM84833 and BCM84834 10GBASE-T PHY transceivers include, but are not limited to:

• The rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's technologies and products in the markets;
• Our ability to specify, develop or acquire, complete, introduce, market and transition to volume production new products and technologies in a cost- effective and timely manner;
• 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;
• Competitive pressures and other factors such as the qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products; and
• 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/Q12010.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™ 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.

(1) Dell'Oro Ethernet Switch Report: 5 Year Forecast 2010-2014, January 2010

SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Enterprise Networking