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Broadcom Announces Industry's First Front-End Cable TV Set-Top Box Chip With Integrated Channel Bonding Technology

Posted on: Thursday, 5 January 2006, 15:00 CST

LAS VEGAS, 2006 International CES, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Broadcom Corporation , a global leader in wired and wireless broadband communications semiconductors, today announced the industry's first front-end cable TV set-top box chip with integrated channel bonding technology. Channel bonding is a DOCSIS(R) 3.0 feature that dramatically increases the transmission speed of a cable TV network, enabling multi service operators (MSOs) to migrate to an all- Internet Protocol (IP) network platform. Addressing voice, video and data, the all-IP network enables MSOs to provide significant benefits such as additional cable and local broadcast channels, content flexibility and improved network efficiency.

Channel bonding combines several DOCSIS channels together to significantly increase data rates when compared to the speed of today's cable modems. Announced today is the new Broadcom(R) BCM3255 set-top box chip that incorporates this channel bonding technique. This new chip can support up to 120 Megabits per second (Mbps) downstream data rates, enabling next generation media centers to support an all-IP network platform, such as Comcast's RNG family of devices. Moving to an all IP-based platform for voice, video, and data content helps to decrease MSOs network operating costs while enabling the network to support fast high-definition video downloads, high bit rate services and other IP voice and video services.

"Increasing the speed and performance capabilities of the cable network is a key element for MSOs as more and more telecommunications operators install fast, fiber-to-the-curb networks," said Daniel Marotta, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom's Broadband Communications Group. "Our new cable TV set-top box chip sets a benchmark for the industry enabling MSOs to deploy new set-top boxes and media centers today that can support the transition to an all-IP network."

"Channel bonding is a key technology that will enable Comcast to continue our migration to an IP Platform," said David Fellows, Comcast Cable CTO. "The integration of channel bonding in silicon, like the Broadcom solution, is a significant step towards combining the power of DOCSIS and IPTV."

Broadcom designed its new BCM3255 set-top box chip to interface with its BCM7400 dual high-definition (HD) advanced video coding (AVC)/VC/MPEG-2 decoder chip. The BCM7400, also announced today, is a single-chip backend solution that supports the latest video compression technologies, including AVC (the ITU and ISO joint standard) and VC-1 (the Society for Motion Picture and Television Engineers or SMPTE standard) for HD programming.

The BCM3255 and BCM7400, when combined with multiple BCM3420 tuners, provide manufacturers with a complete HD AVC, digital video recording (DVR) cable TV media center design that can support channel speeds of up to 120 Mbps with multiple HD AVC streams, advanced downloadable conditional access system (DCAS) security features, up to 1600 DMIPs processing power, and a complete home networking management package. Broadcom packaged this complete solution into the BCM7400CAB reference design to provide its customers with a turnkey solution for next generation set-top box designs.

Product Information

The BCM3255 is a highly integrated front-end chip for HD DVR cable TV set-top boxes and media centers. The chip integrates three 1024/256 QAM in-band demodulators, an out-of-band demodulator, DOCSIS 2.0+/3.0 cable modem technology, USB 2.0 MAC and PHY, and a 10/100 Fast Ethernet MAC (media access controller) and PHY (physical layer device). An integrated 800 DMIPS processor provides support for these next generation features including DOCSIS 2.0+/3.0 and channel bonding resequencing, DOCSIS set-top gateway (DSG) protocols, as well as networking protocol support for TCIP, IPnP and IPv6.

The BCM3255 set-top box chip can be configured to operate with current video channels or in a channel bonding mode. Using Broadcom developed software, cable engineers can remotely switch between the two modes, making the chip ideal for current broadcast solutions as well as for future channel bonded IP-based networks.

Pricing and Availability

The BCM3255 is available today in sample quantities. The chip is packaged in a 416-pin PBGA and is priced at $32 each in 10,000 piece quantities.

Broadcom's Broadband Business Group

Broadcom offers manufacturers a range of broadband communications and consumer electronics SoCs that enable voice, video and data services over residential wired and wireless networks. These highly integrated silicon solutions continue to enable the most advanced system solutions on the market, which include digital cable, satellite and IP set-top boxes and media servers, broadband modems and residential gateways, high definition and digital televisions, HD DVD players and personal video recorders.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a global leader in wired and wireless broadband communications semiconductors. Our products enable the convergence of high-speed data, high definition video, voice and audio at home, in the office and on the go. Broadcom provides manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices with the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything(R).

Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with annual revenue of more than $2 billion. The company is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., with offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at 1-949-450-8700 or at http://www.broadcom.com/.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates,""expects,""intends,""plans,""predicts,""believes,""seeks,""estimates,""may,""will,""should,""would,""could,""potential,""continue,""ongoing," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.

Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with cable set-top box and media center products such as the BCM3255 include, but are not limited to, general economic and political conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address, including the volatility in the technology sector and semiconductor industry, trends in the broadband communications markets in various geographic regions, and possible disruption in commercial activities related to terrorist activity or including seasonality in sales of consumer products into which our products are incorporated, and possible disruption in commercial activities related to terrorist activity or armed conflict in the United States and other locations; the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's technologies and products in the markets for high-performance digital media center applications; delays in the adoption and acceptance of industry standards in those markets; our ability to scale our operations in response to changes in demand for our existing products and services or demand for new products requested by our customers; intellectual property disputes and customer indemnification claims and other types of litigation risk; the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders and our ability, as well as the ability of our customers, to manage inventory; our ability to retain, recruit and hire key executives, technical personnel and other employees in the positions and numbers, with the experience and capabilities, and at the compensation levels needed to implement our business and product plans; our ability to specify, develop or acquire, complete, introduce, market and transition to volume production new products and technologies in a cost-effective and timely manner; the gain or loss of a key customer, design win or order; the availability and pricing of third party semiconductor foundry and assembly capacity and raw materials; our ability to timely and accurately predict market requirements and evolving industry standards and to identify opportunities in new markets; the quality of our products and any remediation costs; competitive pressures and other factors such as the qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products; problems or delays that we may face in shifting our products to smaller geometry process technologies and in achieving higher levels of design integration; the timing of customer-industry qualification and certification of our products and the risks of non-qualification or non-certification; changes in our product or customer mix; the volume of our product sales and pricing concessions on volume sales; fluctuations in the manufacturing yields of our third party semiconductor foundries and other problems or delays in the fabrication, assembly, testing or delivery of our products; the risks of producing products with new suppliers and at new fabrication and assembly facilities; the effectiveness of our expense and product cost control and reduction efforts; the risks and uncertainties associated with our international operations, particularly in light of recent events; the effects of natural disasters, public health emergencies, international conflicts and other events beyond our control; the level of orders received that can be shipped in a fiscal quarter; and other factors.

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason.

Broadcom(R), the pulse logo, Connecting everything(R), and the Connecting everything logo are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States certain other countries and/or the EU. DOCSIS(R)is a trademark of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Broadcom Press Contact Laura Brandlin Director, Marketing Communications 949-926-5108 lbrandlin@broadcom.com Broadcom Investor Relations Contact T. Peter Andrew Vice President, Investor Relations 949-926-5663 andrewtp@broadcom.com Broadcom Technical Contact Peter Schenitzki Product Marketing Manager 949-926-5252 peters@broadcom.com

Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Broadband

CONTACT: Press, Laura Brandlin, Director, Marketing Communications,+1-949-926-5108, lbrandlin@broadcom.com, or Investor Relations, T. PeterAndrew, Vice President, Investor Relations, +1-949-926-5663,andrewtp@broadcom.com, or Technical, Peter Schenitzki, Product MarketingManager, +1-949-926-5252, peters@broadcom.com, all of Broadcom Corporation

Web site: http://www.broadcom.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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