ESS licenses Fast Ethernet technology from Davicom in Taiwan

ESS licenses Fast Ethernet technology from Davicom in Taiwan
By Semiconductor Business News
September 7, 2000 (10:17 a.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20000907S0016

FREMONT, Calif. -- ESS Technology Inc. here today announced it has licensed Fast Ethernet technology from Davicom Semiconductor Inc. of Taiwan for integration in ICs for broadband communications and Internet appliance products.

The licensed technology includes 10/100-megabit-per-second media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) transceiver functions, said ESS. Initially, the Fremont company plans to add the Fast Ethernet capability to existing products, such as V.90 modem chips, said Skip Effler, vice president of PC sales and marketing at ESS.

"Additionally, we will incorporate the technology into new products in development, such as our DSL [digital subscriber line] and home networking products," Effler added. "The demand for broadband communications products are growing rapidly as consumers and businesses demand higher-speed access to the Internet. This licensing agreement enhances ESS's ability to offer products that effective ly address both high-speed networking and broadband communications requirements."

Four-year-old Davicom sees the licensing pact as an opportunity to "grow with another leader" in communications market segments, said Wen Chen, senior vice president at the Taiwan company.

Financial terms of the licensing agreement were not released.