Texas Instruments Technology Redefines How the World Communicates

Texas Instruments Develops Technology Enabling Unlimited Bandwidth and Internet Access the Size of a Soda Can

DALLAS (Oct. 21, 1996) -- Every day, the equivalent of over 300 million pages of text are sent over the Internet. Yet to many, those pages creep along at a snails pace, getting bumped and stalled by network collisions and collapses. Demand for bandwidth - and speed - far exceeds supply.

As consumers rush to gain Internet access, the question remains. Will the Internet ever live up to the hype of providing an unlimited supply of information at the snap of your fingers? The answer lies in the vehicle that delivers the Internet to homes and businesses - the network. The mass of wires, plugs and boxes that connect our computers to the network and the Internet is plagued by a determined amount of available bandwidth. Bandwidth is the speed at which information can be transmitted through a network. As demand and use grow exponentially, the available bandwidth decreases exponentially, resulting in slow - or no - service.

The good news is that there are a lot of smart minds working to solve this dilemma. Texas Instruments (TI) has developed the technology to provide unlimited bandwidth to networks in the form of switches and routers that are the size of a single chip. A switch sorts information based upon its destination and a router makes the connections between networks. TI is partnering with network equipment manufacturers to bring this unlimited bandwidth to the user.

In May, TI announced its 0.18-micron TImeline technology. This technology allows up to 125 million transistors, each 600 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, to be manufactured on a single chip. To put this in perspective, 125 million transistors is equivalent to 20 Pentium processors, the main processing chip in a computer. This technology achieves such high performance that traffic of today's entire Internet could be carried on a switch the size of a soft drink can.

"The most exciting product in the network today is the development of network switches that can deliver high bandwidth, and also become smart enough to route information to the appropriate destination across a wide area," said Greg Waters, director of Texas Instruments Network Business Unit. "Adding this type of bandwidth management capability to network switches will require vastly increased intelligence and performance to be delivered, all at small form factor and price points that can provide consumer network services."TI's 0.18-micron TImeline technology is an enabling technology that can provide this bandwidth and bandwidth management. By working closely with our key networking OEM partners, the resulting products will provide the essence of unlimited bandwidth to everyone who wants it. The average person working in an office sending and receiving large files with text, graphics and video will see dramatic improvements as the several minute wait with today's network is eliminated."

While the benefits to the user are very real, many of the advances credited to TI's 0.18-micron TImeline technology will appear invisible. Information systems managers, the people responsible for defining, installing and managing office networks, will readily appreciate the significance of taking the equipment in a wiring closet and reducing it to a single, thumbnail-sized chip. The result, whether it be the Internet or your company network, will be unlimited bandwidth and lower costs.

Aside from bandwidth and speed, the most visible benefit to the user will be the reduced cost of network components, such as Internet access through personal computers. Increased functionality will also be added, thanks to the single chip 0.18-micron solutions.

These single-chip solutions will negate the need for a fixed point of access. Today, the hardware required to provide Internet access consumes several city blocks. With TImeline Technology, new handheld devices will be developed, enabling free-moving communication in voice, video and data across cities, states and countries.

"Using this new TI TImeline Technology, we can increase network performance, increase bandwidth and speed and lower the cost at the same time," said Waters. "In essence, we will be putting time on your side, where it should be. TImeline Technology will bring us a truly global network, allowing communication with anyone, anytime, anywhere."

# # #