Networking IC Directory
By Nicole Westmoreland and Alan Frank
From Gigabit Ethernet to xDSL, from ATM to cable modems, the telecom and datacom networking market is changing before our eyes. One of the main enablers of these
changes is IC technology and integration. Here’s a listing of vendors and their products to help you when making those tough purchasing decisions.
Many people these days think that the networking market is stalled, in a lull, mature, and so on. Yet the overall growth rate of this market has been huge and is continuing to increase. So why do we feel the need to point to the consolidation of networking companies as an indicator of bad times to come? We don’t believe you’d find anyone at
Cisco or Lucent who feels that such a storm is coming. In fact, the rumor is that Lucent is just now preparing for acquisition fever.
At the same time, smaller companies are bringing innovation to this market, pushing the envelope on speed and performance. Companies like Juniper, Monterey Networks, and Avici are taking the market to a different level of engineering capability. Despite the consolidation, there are many young, hungry companies out there ready to take on the “big boys” through
specialization and segmentation. These companies may not have the manufacturing prowess or distribution channels of Lucent or Cisco, but they do have the agility and innovative engineering ability to change with the market that only a small company can maintain.
It’s true that sales margins are down on the type of equipment being designed, as these products become more and more “commoditized.” But at the same time, new market opportunities are sprouting every day, and companies are reorganizing
to stay competitive in a consumer marketplace where only the tough survive. After all, the networking market isn’t becoming entirely consumerized. We don’t know one consumer who plans to buy themselves an ATM backbone switch and string fiber or Cat 5 for their home.
Either way you look at it, networking OEMs are under price constraints and time-to-market pressures. Therefore, the editors of
Communication Systems Design
have put together a listing of off-the-shelf silicon vendors who say
they can help you design products faster and cheaper.
Additionally, here are some analyst predictions on the hottest segments of the networking market, to give you reasons to feel even better about this market:
- Early warnings predicted that the overall networking equipment market would only grow 8% in 1998. It is now expected to grow 16%, however, to $30.8 billion. Similar growth levels are expected in 1999 and 2000 (In-Stat).
- Remote access systems will grow at 50% CAGR through the year
2000 to $12.2 billion, with concentrators and routers duking it out for a marketshare of 43% and 40% respectively (Dataquest).
- DSL installations will more than double, increasing from 540,000 lines in 1998 to 1.4 million lines in 2000, and could grow to 3.7 million lines in 2003 (Electronic Trends).
- Analog modems are expected to increase 18% in 1998, despite the 56K modem wars (In-Stat).
- LAN packet switches (Gigabit Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, FDDI, and Token Ring) will triple their growth
(169%) in 1998 to $6.4 billion in sales, mostly due to growth in sales of 10/100 Ethernet switches (In-Stat).
- High-speed IP routers, which have only recently emerged, are predicted to reach $1.4 billion in 1999 from $248 million in 1997 (Dataquest).
- ATM WAN switches are expected to grow 71% in 1998, bringing in $1.9 billion in revenue, while ATM LAN switches are forecasted to grow 50% to $905 million in 1998 (In-Stat).
- Frame Relay switches will bring in $1.6 billion in revenues in 1998, showing
a 27% increase (In-Stat).
- Central office equipment will reach $464.6 million in 2002, due to the installations of various DSL technologies (Allied Business).
- Cable modems are predicted to grow to 1 million units by 2000, which is lower than earlier predictions. Shipped units could increase if service gets deployed over the next 12 to 36 months. (Andrew Prophet Research and Consulting).
We are always the sunny optomists here at
Communication Systems Design
, but even if you cut the
above projections in half, there is still much money to be to made in the networking market. Keep those designs coming!
Using the Directory
We’ve grouped each vendor’s products together, and placed them in alphabetical order by vendor name. For example, if you’re looking for chips that support a specific network technology (such as ATM), consult Table 1. A black dot in any particular row and column indicates that the vendor listed in that row offers ICs supporting the networking
technology represented by that column. Once you’ve identified which vendors have parts that interest you, turn to those vendors’ listings in the directory. (Table 1 doesn’t necessarily cover all of each vendor’s product offerings — only those for which vendors have submitted product information for the Directory.)
Information on vendors’ products is provided by the respective vendors. The information contained here is deemed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. In
particular, pricing specifications and product availability are subject to frequent change. Be sure to verify all pertinent information by checking with the vendors.
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