Broadcom moves to speed Gigabit deployment

Broadcom and its Accelerated Deployment Partners (ADPs) are committing to an effort to produce Gigabit Ethernet products designed for the installed base of Category 5 copper cabling, which is currently widely-used for Ethernet and Fast Ethernet. The Company's ADPs include 3Com, Alteon Networks, Bay, Cabletron, Cisco, HP, Jato Technologies and Packet Engines - which we think is a quorum. The use of existing cabling infrastructure will accelerate Gigabit Ethernet uptake by reducing migration costs drastically. The products will use Broadcom's Giga-PHY transceiver technology and will conform to the Gigabit Ethernet standard for copper-based cabling as proposed by the IEEE802.3ab Task Force. This proposed standard will enable Gigabit Ethernet to extend to distances of up to 100 metres over existing installed Cat 5, rather than havcing to use enhanced Cat 5 or Cat 6.