ElectriPHY Corp. has introduced a silicon platform that promises VDSL performance at ADSL2+ prices.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said its “Phybrwire” series of VDSL chipsets goes for $6.95 per port. That compares to $6 to $8 for ADSL2+ chipsets, and well below the $12 to $15 per port offered by traditional VSDL silicon providers, according to Jay Aggarwal, director of marketing for ElectriPHY. He said the lower price is due to factors such as ElectriPHY’s use of IP, instead of ATM, technology, reduced die size, and power consumption of less than 1 watt per port.
ElectriPHY’s line includes a 400-series product for head-ends and central offices and a 100-series for CPE (customer premises equipment).
Aggarwal acknowledges that most of the VDSL action is not in the U.S., but in areas such as Korea, Japan, India and China. In addition to high-density populations, factors that make VDSL more attractive in those areas include general competition and intense government involvement in the build-out and availability of broadband services, he added.
Although the VDSL standard was ratified last year by the International Telecommunications Union, U.S. carriers that plan to leverage their existing copper rather than to deploy fiber-to-the-premises might be waiting for emerging VDSL2 technology. Some are also opting to use ADSL2+ to punch up their copper plants.
But ElectriPHY’s chipsets are designed to far outstrip speeds generated by ADSL2+, a technology some telcos will use to enter the video business, Aggarwal said. While ADSL2+ can pump out 24 Mbps down/3 Mbps up “under ideal conditions,” the ElectriPHY platform can generate 100 Mbps down/50 Mbps up—well above the 52 Mbps/30 Mbps called for by the VDSL standard, he claimed.
Although VDSL traditionally is well-suited for short-range MDU (multi-dwelling unit) installations, ElectriPHY also hopes to bring its technology to longer-range deployments. In fact, the company believes its technology, which uses dynamic spectrum management (DSM), looks and performs a lot like ADSL2+ in longer distance situations, but with the benefit of VDSL speeds in homes and businesses that reside closer to the central office.
ElectriPHY, which competes in the VDSL silicon market with companies such as Ikanos Communications and Metalink, is sampling its wares today and expects to reach production in the second half of 2005.