Alcatel Next Generation ADSL Chipset Doubles Line Card Density
By: John Spofford
With the release of its fifth-generation DynaMiTe asynchronous digital subscriber line (ADSL) chipset, Paris-based Alcatel claims to decrease power consumption and board size. Alcatel Microelectronics, the new microelectronics division of Alcatel, has announced the DynaMiTe MTK-20150, a discrete multitone (DMT) chipset that will allow more than eight lines on a standard central office (CO) line card, essentially doubling density and saving rack space.
Alcatel has moved to 0.25µ production of the digital chip and has optimized the analog front-end. Eliminating what was still a foible of DMT chipsets—excessive power use—total power dissipation for the two chip set, including the MTC-20154 analog front-end and the MTC-20156 digital modem chip, is now 1.1W.
The MTK-20150 is used in both CO and customer premises equipment (CPE). Companies that use the DynaMiTe chipset to manufacture CPE include Compaq (Houston), Flowpoint (Los Gatos, CA), Efficient Networks (Dallas), Xyxel, Cayman Systems (Stoneham, MA), GVC (Taipei, Taiwan), and Teles.
Features of the chipset include direct ATM support through an UTOPIA interface, broadband connectivity up to 26,000 ft on 24 AWG or 18,000 ft on 26 AWG, and full-rate ADSL transfer of up to 8 Mbps downstream and 850 Kbps upstream on 26 AWG. The MTK-20150 is compatible with earlier generations, the MTK-20131 and MTK-20140.
Alcatel leads ADSL market
Alcatel is expected to win the largest slice of the US ADSL equipment market in 1999—a market that includes line cards, digital subscriber line access multiplexers (DSLAMs), and CPE, according to Allied Business Intelligence Inc. The Oyster Bay, NY-based technology research firm predicts the three top players to be Alcatel, the Fujitsu Network Communications (FNC; Tokyo)/Orckit Communications (Tel Aviv, Israel) alliance, and Cisco Systems (San Jose, CA).
Of equipment revenue topping $346 million in 1999, Alcatel will have a 39.1% share of the US market or $135 million in sales. FNC/Orckit will be next, with 24.4% or $84 million, and Cisco will follow with 19.5% or $67 million. Other manufacturers will sell a combined 17.0% representing $59 million.
The lead is due to numerous deals the major local exchange carriers (LECs). With most of the US already receiving phone service, it is impossible for the LECs to expand their customer base. Instead these local phone companies are interested in offering broadband services to increase the revenue per line and per existing customer.
These broadband services are a bonanza to the top vendors. For example, Cisco is supplying carrierless amplitude/phase-based Radsl gear to US West; FNC/Orckit is supplying equipment to GTE; and Alcatel has been most successful of the three, supplying gear to BellSouth (Atlanta), Bell Atlantic (New York), Ameritech (Chicago), and SBC (San Antonio).
Change in the wind
However, the market dynamics are about to change, reports Allied Business Intelligence. G.Lite equipment will enter the market later this year. Since equipment produced to this standard by different manufacturers is meant to be interoperable, the current leaders will lose many of the advantages they gained by supplying the initial ADSL rollouts.
Alcatel's MTK-20150 chipset is ready for the shift to G.Lite and it includes software extensions to G.Lite, G.DMT, and support for ISDN. Priced at $50, the chipset will be available in volume starting mid-year 1999, according to Alcatel. The data terminates at Utopia Level 1 or Level 2 interfaces. Future revisions will terminate at USB or PCI interfaces.