*****For immediate use March 30^th, 1999

NEC Extends ATM Product Offering with High-Speed Networking Device

µPD98414

NEC Corporation (NEC) (NASDAQ: NIPNY) today announced it has begun sampling of a 2.4 gigabit per second (Gbit/s) SONET^*1/SDH^*2 framer, the µPD98414, a new addition to its comprehensive line-up of ATM^*3 products, including PHYs^*4, SARs^*5 and switches.

The SONET/SDH framer enables common telecommunications carriers and Internet service providers (ISPs) to offer super high-speed wide area network (WAN) and local area network (LAN) backbone communication systems, and NEC anticipates it will be utilized for high-speed devices such as backbone switches and routers.

Designed to extract ATM cells from a SONET/SDH format frame received from the line interface and output them to the ATM layer interface, the µPD98414supports speeds of up to 2.4 Gbit/s when combined with a transmitter/receiver and optical module. The part also supports overhead drop/insert functions for communication status supervision and a powerful operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) function. This is used to communicate line alarm conditions, failures and general supervisory information that may lower line quality.

Separate 32-bit/104 megahertz (MHz) data buses are used for transmission and reception while interfacing between chips on the ATM layer, with 16-bit/155 MHz buses used on the line side. An Intel and Motorola-compatible mode is available for CPU interface and JTAG (Joint Test Action Group) boundary scan test is supported.

The new device (µPD98414) operates at 3.3 volts (V) was designed using a 0.35-micron CMOS process and supports SONET OC-48c/STM-16c frame. Available in a 35-millimeter (mm) square, 352-pin plastic ball grid array (BGA), the µPD98414 is immediately available in sample quantities. Mass production is expected to begin from September 1999 at an anticipated rate of 20,000 units per month.

Communication Networks Growth
As Internet and Intranets gain in popularity, communication networks now appear in corporate offices, small office/home office (SOHO) and homes. Additionally, with an increased amount of multimedia data being transferred, greater line capacities are critical. To offer the level of communication performance customers are demanding, common carriers and ISPs are under immense pressure to improve the speeds of backbone communication networks and install super high-speed line interfaces.

NEC's new device (µPD98414) was developed specifically to meet these needs. It provides an optimal solution for establishing a solid, fast networking infrastructure thanks to its ATM line interface that supports a transmission rate of 2.4 Gbit/s.

NEC's ATM Products
NEC has been a leading supplier of state-of-the-art ATM devices, targeting corporate backbone networking infrastructure, introducing two devices in 1994 -- a segmentation and reassembly (SAR) device and a SONET/SDH framer. With its success in the backbone, NEC expanded its product offerings to include 25-megabits-per-second (Mbps) ATM connectivity for the workgroup (or desktop arena). NEC's decision to expand its ATM product line is part of a long-term commitment to delivering a range of advanced networking silicon solutions to the LAN and WAN markets and is part of a broader company push toward multimedia capable applications.

NEC provides ATM silicon solutions at the chip level and is currently marketing 155Mbps ATM controllers as well as single and quad SONET/SDH framers.

Main specifications for the µPD98414

***

Notes:

*1:	SONET - synchronous optical network, an ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard for transmitting information over optical fiber This standard is used or accepted in the United States and Canada and is a variation of the SDH international standard.
*2:	SDH - synchronous digital hierarchy, the ITU-T (International Telecommunications Union Telecommunications) international standard for transmitting information over optical fiber.
*3:	ATM - asynchronous transfer mode is a method of high-speed transmission of data in which all information including voice, image, computer data, and so forth is digitized and divided into 48-byte units. Each unit is framed between a start and a stop bit to indicate its beginning and end in a header that includes information such as destination data to produce a 53-byte cell. This cell is the unit of transmission in ATM.
*4:	PHY - Physical Layer 1 of the OSI model.
*5:	SAR - segmentation and reassembly. The asynchronous transfer mode controller that implements the ATM protocol layer and adaptation layer (AAL) functions. The SAR chip is used by workstations, computers, front-end processors, network hubs and routers for interfacing to an ATM network.

***

Media Contact:-
Aston Bridgman
NEC Corporation
TEL :   +81-3-3798-6511
FAX :   +81-3-3457-7249
e-mail : Aston_Bridgman@HO-PRD.ccgw.nec.co.jp

Customer Contact:
NEC Semiconductor Technical Hotline
(Information Center)
Tel:    +81-(0)44-548-8899
Fax:    +81-(0)44-548-7900
e-mail: s-info@saed.tmg.nec.co.jp
http://www.ic.nec.co.jp/index_e.html