IBM, National Semiconductor Team on Home Gateways

Electronic News, June 25, 2001

NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR CORP. AND IBM CORP. LAST WEEK said they have developed technology for home gateways that allows Internet access throughout the home and remote management of home appliances such as lights, security systems, utility meters, air conditioners and entertainment systems.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based National (nyse: NSM) and Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM (nyse: IBM) said the jointly developed technology combines National's Internet appliance development platform containing the Geode processor with IBM's WebSphere embedded software.

The companies said the resulting product would be able to combine several product offerings in a single development environment. The platform is scheduled to be available in August.

Shanghai General Electronics Group (SGEG), a Chinese white goods manufacturer, and C.P. Technology, a Taiwan-based home technology developer, have already signed on to use the development platform, the companies said. SGEG will use the technology to develop applications that can remotely monitor and control Web-enabled appliances, while C.P. Technology will use it to power its home gateway, the Power IA Smarthome UB2100. The companies, citing research from Allied Business Intelligence, believe the home gateway market with increase from $267 million in 2000 to $7.1 billion in 2006.

Bandspeed Raises $15M in Venture Capital Funding

BANDSPEED INC. OF AUSTIN LAST WEEK RAISED $15 MILLION in venture capital funding. The signal processing company's latest round of funding was led by JatoTech Ventures and MSD Capital, with additional participation from Cisco Systems Inc. The funding will be used to develop and market transceiver chipsets and software for wireline and wireless broadband communication systems. The funds will also help hire employees for Bandspeed's Austin office as well as fund a research and development center in Melbourne, Australia, the company said.

"Bandspeed is setting a new performance watermark for standards-compliant broadband systems," said Walt Thirion, general partner at JatoTech Ventures, in a statement. "For ADSL, carriers will benefit economically as they capture more customers and lower deployment costs."

STMicroelectronics and Alenia Spazio Ink ITV Deal

STMICROELECTRONICS AND ALENIA SPAZIO, A SUPPLIER OF satellite systems, last week signed an agreement to cooperate in the field of interactive broadband satellite networks for multimedia applications.

The goal is to provide cost-sensitive multimedia applications to service providers in the satellite market. Under the terms of the agreement, STMicro of Geneva will become a partner in the EuroSkyWay project, part of the European Space Agency (ESA) Artes 3 program for delivering Internet and interactive services via satellite. Alenia Spazio is currently already taking part in this development effort with the ESA.