Rim Semiconductor Company (fka RSMI)

[excel]

Someday I expect to see this type of a headline but NVs name instead.............

ANALOG DEVICES AND VIRATA DEVELOP ADSL REFERENCE DESIGN SOLUTIONS


Santa Clara, CA (January 18, 2000) - Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI) and Virata (Nasdaq: VRTA) today announced the joint development of a reference design kit for the rapid deployment of Asynchronous Digital Subscribers Line (ADSL) customer premises equipment (CPE) devices. The reference design kit is a complete system solution to be offered to manufacturers of external ADSL CPE including modems, gateways and routers. The solution will consist of ADI’s AD20msp930 ADSL chipset, and Virata’s Helium™ communications processor and networking software.

The new reference design offers support for both the G.992.1 and G.992.2 forms of ADSL (also known as full-rate ADSL and G. Lite) and comes in Ethernet and USB versions. In addition, the reference design offers interoperability with central office (CO) equipment based on Analog Devices’ ADSL chips. The kit includes the hardware platform with schematics, physical layer discrete multi-tone (DMT) chipset, and ATM, IP and PC driver software, and is supported by both ADI and Virata.

“As the leading independent ADSL silicon vendor, Analog Devices joined forces with Virata to develop this reference design kit in order to expedite the deployment of ADSL,” said Mike Ziehl, ADI’s director of broadband marketing. “This kit provides a complete system solution for CPE equipment manufacturers and makes their design challenge easier by offering time-to-market and performance advantages as well as flexibility and widespread interoperability.”

“The combination of Virata’s Helium processor, software and systems expertise with ADI’s ADSL physical layer solution and AFE expertise has resulted in a strong broadband design partnership,” added Duncan Greatwood, vice president of marketing for Virata. “This collaboration achieves new levels of integration while meeting the stringent cost and performance requirements of our customers, and enhancing their opportunity for product differentiation.”

The reference design kit features ADI’s AD20msp930, the latest addition to Analog Devices’ leading family of ADSL chipset solutions. ADI’s AD20msp930 AD20msp930 enables up to 10 Mbps of Internet data throughput per subscriber line, which is more than 100 times faster than 56-kbps analog modems. The industry standards-based interoperable chipset is designed for both CO Internet access equipment and customer premises equipment (CPE). The chipset also includes a new high-performance analog front end (AFE), and ADI's low-power line driver.

For its network processing and controller capabilities, the reference design uses Virata's Helium chip, a highly integrated communications processor combining an ATM engine, IP processing, Ethernet and USB interfaces with control of DSL physical layer chips such as the AD20msp930 AD20msp930. Helium is designed for use in high-speed, single- and multiple-user endpoint devices such as modems, residential gateways, routers, as well as in channel banks and line cards for DSLAMs.

Virata is also providing the network processing software for the design, which includes bridging, routing, and tunneling functions in addition to the core ATM processing capability. This integrated software supports ease of development, enabling rapid, low-risk product design and roll-out of reliable cost effective products.

Availability and Pricing
The ADI/Virata reference design will be available in April 2000, and will be jointly sold and marketed by both companies. Please contact Analog Devices or Virata for pricing information.

About Virata
Virata delivers highly-integrated semiconductors with a comprehensive suite of communications software to broadband Internet access equipment suppliers primarily for the DSL markets. Virata’s systems expertise, products and support services simplify development, maximize opportunity for differentiation and speed time-to-market.

Virata is a principal member of the ATM and DSL Forums, and is a member of the ITU. A publicly traded company on the Nasdaq stock exchange, Virata was founded in 1993 and maintains operations in Santa Clara, California; Cambridge, U.K.; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information, visit Virata at http://www.virata.com.

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Virata is a registered trademark of Virata. All other trade, product, or service names referenced in this release may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Except for historical information relating to Virata contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially. Factors that might cause a difference include, but are not limited to, those relating to evolving industry standards, the pace of development and market acceptance of Virata's products and the DSL market generally, commercialization and technological delays or difficulties, the impact of competitive products and technologies, competitive pricing pressures, manufacturing risks, the possibility of our products infringing patents and other intellectual property of third parties, product defects, costs of product development and manufacturing and government regulation. Virata will not update these forward looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. More detailed information about potential factors that could affect Virata's financial results is included in the documents Virata files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.










About Analog Devices
With fiscal 1999 sales of $1.45 billion, Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI) is a leading manufacturer of precision high-performance integrated circuits used in analog and digital signal processing applications. Headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts, the company employs approximately 7,400 people worldwide, and has manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, Ireland, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Analog Devices' stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the company is included in the S&P 500 Index.





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Analog Devices press releases are available on the web at http://content.analog.com/pressrelease.


Excel - Greg