Transcript Introduction of BroadCom

Introduction of BroadCom
Deqiang Chen
Overview of Broadcom
• Located in Irvine, California
• Founded: 1991 by Dr. Henry T. Nicholas
III and Dr. Henry Samueli
• IPO: April 1998
• Stock Symbol: BRCM (Nasdaq)
• Chairman and CTO: Dr. Henry Samueli
• Worldwide Employment: approx. 3,000
• 2003 Revenue: $1.61 Billion
Interesting Facts
• Henrys left PairGain Technologies Inc. in
1991, leaving behind some lucrative stock
options. In 1998, Broadcom's $24-a-share
IPO jumped 123 percent in one day. The
current price is around $40.
• Samueli is still a professor of electrical
engineering at UCLA; UCI has the Henry
Samueli School of Engineering
Overview
• A leading provider of highly integrated
semiconductor solutions that enable broadband
communications and networking
• Technology expertise
– Proprietary communications system algorithms and
protocols
– Advanced DSP hardware architectures
– System-on-a-chip design methodologies
– High-performance RF, analog and mixed-signal circuit
design using industry-standard CMOS processes
Products
– Cable: DSL modem chips
– Cellular: Edge/GMS/GPRS
– Data/Telecom networks: 10G Ethernet; VoIP
– Wireless LAN: claim to ship industry's first
standards-based for 802.11g wireless LANs
with performance enhancements ; 78 percent
of market share in 2003;
– Many other products
Technical Contribution
• The largest share of market for 802.11g
• The fasted 802.11g/e (according to
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1499139,00.asp)
– achieve 125Mbps
– interoperable
– Use “Xpress” technique, based on packet (or
frame) bursting techniques.
– Key idea: puts more data into a single
transmission, thus reducing the overhead
• Point out the problem of interoperability
– In 2003, Broadcom's claims that Atheros's
Super G mode interferes with Broadcom's
802.11g chipsets. This might make
compatibility and interoperability the number
one issue in 2004.
Prospect
• Recently lay off
• Still in good shape as WLAN continues to
grow