TECH TALK By Paul Motter (MF Networx) New York City, (May 4, 1997) -- Amati Communications AMATI COMMUNICATIONS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AMTX)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AMTX)") end if %> is the subject of much speculation on the Street this week concerning word that Regional Bell Operating Company GTE is ready to name an official supplier for their ADSL modem products. ADSL stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, which is a new method of transmitting digital data over regular phone lines up to 200 times faster than a conventional 28.8 analog modem. Amati is the originator of many of the ADSL specifications that went into creating the official ANSI standard for the new technology. The company holds several patents. Amati is among the first to build and publicly test ADSL modems that can transmit data as fast as 6 mbps. GTE was among the first U.S. RBOCs to give Amati's modems a good trial run and now speculation is high that Amati will get the nod to become the official supplier. But surprises have happened in this field before. Last year Ameritech, BellSouth, Pacific Bell and SBC Communications chose European telco giant Alcatel as their ADSL supplier over the company who had been supplying them with test equipment for their ADSL trials... WESTELL <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WSTL)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WSTL)") end if %>. It was a major blow to Westell, which fully expected to get the contract and the company's stock has fallen precipitiously since the event. Alcatel apparently got the nod for two reasons -- it offered to supply the ANSI compliant version of ADSL known as DMT (discrete multi-tone), and they said they could do it much cheaper than anyone else, under $500 per modem. At the time no one thought it was possible to sell one for less than $800. Meanwhile, ASCEND COMMUNICATIONS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ASND)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ASND)") end if %> and US ROBOTICS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: USRX)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: USRX)") end if %>, two of the largest makers of remote access switches and the companies it is likely many Internet providers will look to when they want to offer ADSL Internet access, have decided upon another ADSL implementation of the ANSI standard... AWARE <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AWRE)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AWRE)") end if %>. So, even though Amati was an early favorite in the ADSL race, and despite the fact that it holds several key patents, that lucrative contract as a modem supplier to a major American RBOC has so far eluded them. Recent agreements with German-based Siemen's to integrate ATM technology with the Amati ADSL and an alliance with chipmaker Texas Instruments do make the company look like a favorable choice, however. Meanwhile, Westell may be getting another chance. East Coast RBOC Bell Atlantic (soon to merge with Nynex) is said to be considering Westell as its ADSL modem supplier for their CAP implementation, a competitive, non ANSI compliant version of ADSL developed by Paradyne. METRICOM <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MCOM)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MCOM)") end if %> was crowing last Monday about a recent coup in the recent Wireless Communications Services (WCS) auctions, by winning licenses which cover 125 million people in 21 of the nation's top 25 metropolitan areas. Metricom is best known for ITS Ricochet wireless Internet services currently only available in Seattle, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The company provides unlimited Internet access via wireless modems, available throughout the metropolitan area for $29.95 plus a $10 modem rental fee every month. Perfect for that laptop toting, email checking, railroad commuting executive. "The combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum will increase the capacity ad performance of our Ricochet wireless networks, and enable us to provide speeds of 128 kbps or more for our wireless data communications services," said Don Wood, Metricom president. Cities covered by the new licenses include San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Denver, Phoenix, Spokane, Salt Lake City and St. Louis. Internet Access Goes "Premium" Fed up with "all you can eat if you're lucky enough to get connected at all" Internet access? Well, so is NETCOM <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: NETC)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: NETC)") end if %>, one of the originators of the concept. Netcom was one of the first nationwide Internet access providers to offer unlimited service to anyone who could cough up $19.95 a month. Now the company has put a lid on that service, closing it off to new customers. Even though the company is allowing already connected customers to maintain that service, Netcom is targeting a clientele who they believe will pay a premium for better service, especially guaranteed access no matter how bad the traffic conditions become. NETCOMplete Advantage is designed for users who want a full service Internet access solution they can rely on to communicate over the Internet. Priced at $24.95 per month with a $25 activation fee for new customers, NETCOMplete Advantage features 28.8 Kbps access, additional mailboxes to keep personal and professional mail separate, customizable PersonalNews, PersonalFinance and SurfWatch blocking services software, McAfee WebScan anti-virus software, support for point-to-point and broadcast faxes over the Internet and mail forwarding functionality for improved mail management capability. NETCOMplete Advantage Pro, at $29.95 per month will follow soon. Cisco Systems CISCO SYSTEMS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CSCO)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CSCO)") end if %> announced it will be providing Compuserve with its 56K modem remote access switches for extensive field testing. Shipments will begin this summer of Cisco's new AS5200 Universal Access Server 56k modem switches based on the Lucent/Rockwell based K56Flex protocol. Adaptec, Inc. ADAPTEC INC. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ADPT)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ADPT)") end if %> reported financial results of $0.50 a share, beating analyst estimates. For its 1997 fiscal year, Adaptec's revenues were $934 million, an increase of 42% over fiscal year 1996 revenue total of $659 million. Net income, excluding acquisition charges, for fiscal year 1997 was $198 million, or $1.72 per share. Sierra Semiconductor SIERRA SEMICONDUCTOR <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: SERA)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: SERA)") end if %> is breaking the price barrier on 100 mbps fast ethernet chips. PMC-Sierra Inc. today announced the release of the ELAN PM3351, a new single port, 100 Mbit/s fast ethernet switch on a chip featuring a unique intelligent switch architecture called SmartPath(TM). The device is among the first of PMC-Sierra's new ELAN (Ethernet Local Area Network) product family, a comprehensive roadmap of ethernet solutions which provides the lowest cost per port ethernet switching solution currently available based on published pricing. Due to the cost-savings advantages of the SmartPath architecture, these chips allow ethernet switches to be built for a total bill-of-materials (BOM) cost of under $13 per 10 Mbit/s port and $55 per 100 Mbit/s port; a significantly lower cost than alternative switch architectures today.

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