Infineon Takes Broadband DSL to New Levels with Faster, More Capable System Solutions

Munich – June 4, 2003 – At the Supercomm trade fair that takes place this week in Atlanta, USA, Infineon presented new semiconductor solutions for designers of broadband equipment based on xDSL technology. One new product is a tiny chip, with more than four million transistors and other electronic components on only 1.4 square centimeters, that brings digital information to the customer using VDSL (Very High Data Rate Digital Subscriber Line) technology. A second new solution, the IPVD™ (Integrated Packet Voice Data) platform, integrates the hardware components of Asymmetric DSL (ADSL), digital Voice Processing chips and analog phone technologies.

The new VDSL “Modem-on-Chip” solution uses conventional copper lines to deliver broadband services at a rate of up to 100 Mbps (megabits per second), comparatively, the top speed of an analog modem working at 56 kbps is about 2000 times slower. The chip is suitable for systems that combine different service offerings such as voice, Internet and video transmission over the same copper line. According to a recent study by Nielsen/Netratings, about 26 per cent of today’s Internet users in Germany use xDSL technology, and this number rises by about 100,000 every month.

The new VDSL chip also does not require external frequency filter components. This enables Service Providers to offer the transmission of video, voice and other data services in a cost-effective manner over the existing copper telephone network. With so-called gateway solutions based on the new VDSL5100i chip, the data rate also can be easily adapted as system providers improve the infrastructure for broadband services. Customers who are located up to 4 km away from the central office gain access to a data rate of up to 4 Mbps. As providers move the network connection closer to the customer, they can offer higher data rates. This could be up to 100 Mbps for a distance of 500 meters. The VDSL5100i has been formed by the integration of three formerly separate chips in a single package and reduces the space requirements to one-fourth, compared with existing solutions.

Infineon developed the IPVD platform as a flexible and cost-effective solution for ADSL systems. It enables manufacturers of access systems to equip line cards to support all defined data rates for ADSL (standards bodies have defined four generations of the technology) and POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service). Service Providers can use the technology to offer their customers packet-based voice services in combination with DSL, which e.g. permits video transmissions over the same line.

Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for the automotive and industrial sectors, for applications in the wired communications markets, secure mobile solutions as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In the fiscal year 2002 (ending September 2002), the company achieved sales of Euro 5.21 billion with about 30,400 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at www.infineon.com.

Infineon, Infineon Technologies, and the stylized Infineon Technologies design are registered trademarks and service marks and IPVDis a trademark of Infineon Technologies AG in the United States and/or other countries. Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.