CENTILLIUM TECHNOLOGY
AND ORCKIT COMMUNICATIONS
DEMONSTRATE INTEROPERABILITY OF ADSL/G.Lite PRODUCTS
Compatibility of Centillium's
CPE Chipsets with Orckit's DSLAM Systems and Chipsets Solves Mass Deployment
Issues for Carriers and Service Providers
FREMONT, Calif., June 1, 1999 - Centillium Technology Corporation
and Orckit Communications (NASDAQ:ORCT) today announced compatibility
between the Companys' respective ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber
Line) and G.Lite products. Centillium Technology's CopperLite™
and Optimizer™ chipsets are utilized by manufacturers as the basis
for ADSL/G.992.2 (G.Lite) customer modems while Orckit's FastInternet™
DSLAM and the Fujitsu/Orckit SpeedPort™ DSLAM including Orckit's
new full rate and G.Lite ADSL chipsets provide direct high-speed data
connectivity over existing copper telephone lines for major carriers
worldwide.
Centillium-based modems from multiple CPE vendors - such as Digicom
Systems (a wholly owned subsidiary of Creative Technology), Askey and
GVC, - will be also be tested and certified by Orckit for interoperability.
Compatibility of these consumer modems with Orckit's DSLAM systems is
expected to help ease mass deployment issues for telephone companies
and Internet Service Providers by making it possible for consumers and
small businesses to purchase and install their own G.Lite modem products.
Both companies have developed G.lite chipset technology and are working
together to make their chipset solutions interoperable.
"The Orckit DSLAM solution is currently one of the worlds most
widely shipped ADSL systems. Achieving interoperability with Orckit
will provide enormous benefits to carriers that no longer want to be
the sole suppliers of DSL modems to their customers," said Faraj
Aalaei, vice president of marketing and business development, Centillium
Technology. "With compatible modems available from multiple vendors,
including those with retail sales channels, customers can simply go
to their local computer store, purchase a G.Lite modem, and plug into
the Internet at high speed. This saves network service providers from
the time and cost of ordering, stocking, and shipping customer premises
equipment."
"Centillium supplies chipset solutions to some of the industry's
most respected CPE modem OEM manufacturers," said Nigel Cole, Orckit's
VP Business Development. "This relationship is part of Orckit's
ongoing program to enable leaders in the retail CPE modem industry achieve
interoperability with our G.lite ADSL technology within our DSLAM systems
that are under deployment by leading carriers worldwide. The availability
of interoperable customer modem products via retail sales channels will
accelerate end-user demand for G.lite based services and as a result
DSLAM deployment".
The companies will demonstrate initial interoperability of their products
at the Supercomm'99 show in Atlanta, June 8-10, on the Centillium booth
# 8717 and the Orckit booth # 4415.
Centillium CPE Chipset
Solutions
Centillium
recently announced the most highly integrated, lowest power-consumption
CPE chipset for consumer DSL modems: the Optimizer chipset family. Based
on third-generation patented technology, Centillium's Optimizer CPE
chipset dramatically reduces the cost, form factor, and power usage
normally associated with DSL modems. For the first time ever, modem
manufacturers can develop business card-sized G.Lite CPE modems, while
carriers and consumers can leverage the preferred Universal Serial Bus
interface to ease the deployment of DSL services.
Orckit FastInternet™
DSLAM System
The FastInternet
DSLAM is one of the worlds most widely deployed Digital Subscriber Line
Multiplexer systems. With FastInternet, service providers and telephone
companies can offer high-speed data access simultaneously with a subscriber's
Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), using the existing wires. FastInternet
comprises high performance, low power DSL modems plus a multiplexing
system which concentrates DSL modem traffic onto the high-speed backbone
network. The system enables telecom operators to use the same unified
platform for migration from an IP or Frame-Relay backbone to an ATM
backbone or vice versa, and from POTS service to ISDN, without changing
the FastInternet hardware.
About Orckit Communications
Orckit Communications
is a leading company in the field of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) solutions,
which enable telephone companies and Internet Service Providers to provide
high speed data services such as internet access over the existing copper
telephone wire in the Local Loop. Orckit possesses both core silicon
expertise and a wide range of DSL products, including its FastInternet™
DSLAM System with ADSL, and its CopperTrunk® HDSL and VDSL product
lines. Orckit has key strategic alliances with several leading semiconductor
chipset companies and telecom equipment providers. For more information
about Orckit and its DSL solutions, visit Orckit's web site at http://www.orckit.com.
About Centillium Technology
Centillium
Technology is a communication solutions company dedicated to delivering
high-speed Internet access to bandwidth-hungry businesses and consumers.
The company designs and markets Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) chipset
solutions for central office equipment, DLC line cards, and customer
premises equipment. Centillium's chipset family is the industry's highest
port density, lowest power dissipation solution available to networking
equipment manufacturers today. Additional information is available at
http://www.centillium.com. For sales information, contact Al Gharakhanian
at (510) 360-5054.
###
FastInternet is a trademark of Orckit Communications, Ltd.
Speedport is a trademark of Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc.
###
© 1999 Centillium
Technology Corp. CopperLite is a trademark of Centillium Technology
Corp. All other products or service names mentioned herein are the property
of their respective owners.
Certain matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking
statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties including,
but not limited to, risks in product development plans and schedules,
rapid technological change, changes and delays in product approval and
introduction, customer acceptance of new products, the impact of competitive
products and pricing, market acceptance, the lengthy sales cycle, proprietary
rights of the Company and its competitors, risk of operations in Israel,
government regulation, dependence on third parties to manufacture products,
general economic conditions and other risk factors detailed in the Company's
United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
