LAS VEGAS -- Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced an eight-port octal physical layer (PHY) device that extends the reach of Ethernet over twisted pair cables. The new 65 nanometer CMOS octal PHY, featuring Broadcom(R) BroadR-Reach(TM) technology, will be demonstrated this week at Interop 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The device provides added flexibility to standard Ethernet cables by enabling 10/100 Ethernet to operate over extended distances (up to 500 meters) on one, two or four wire pairs of Category 5 (CAT 5) or telephony grade cabling.

BroadR-Reach technology supports traditional Ethernet services and other network infrastructures that require longer than 100 meters reach or operation over a single twisted wire pair (such as hotels, colleges/universities, convention centers, airports and train stations, to name a few). The extended reach will also broaden the range of cable installations and can be used for new IP services and applications such as broadband access, voice over IP, wireless access points and surveillance cameras.

In contrast to previous technologies that extended the range of Ethernet over twisted pair, Broadcom's new approach enables every BroadR-Reach port to also support IEEE 802.3-compliant technologies such as 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX and 1000BASE-T. As a result, BroadR-Reach provides interoperability and connectivity to standard 10/100/1000BASE-T devices over distances up to 100 meters while extending 10Mbps (Megabits per second) and 100Mbps operations to 500 meters. Additionally, BroadR-Reach technology works with Power over Ethernet (PoE) to provide a new generation of IP services and applications such as security camera surveillance.

BroadR-Reach technology addresses key issues that affect deployment of IP services in today's enterprise. For example, since many traditional digital PBX phone systems use twisted pair cables that will not support standard IEEE 802.3 Ethernet PHY technology, BroadR-Reach would be a good solution for migrating to IP-based telephony systems by leveraging the current infrastructure. Also, in new installations, some devices such as wireless access points (WAPs) and surveillance cameras may not be conveniently located within the standard 100 meter range of horizontal wiring in structured cabling systems. For these applications, BroadR-Reach provides IT managers with additional flexibility in connecting devices over distances that would otherwise require fiber optic cabling and expensive optical transceivers.

"We are very excited about our BroadR-Reach technology that will enable our customers to broaden their Ethernet product applications," said Nariman Yousefi, a Vice President and General Manager in Broadcom's Enterprise Networking Group. "BroadR-Reach enables new IP services by extending the reach of Ethernet with just a change to the PHY. Since BroadR-Reach ports also support standard 10/100/1000BASE-T configurations, our customers can easily offer upgraded products with no compromise to the features, performance and interoperability of their existing switch technologies."

Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM)