Draft Standard for Gigabit Ethernet Over Copper Nearing Completion

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PALO ALTO, Calif., March 18, 1999 -- The Gigabit Ethernet Alliance today announced that the IEEE 802.3ab draft standard (1000BASE-T or Gigabit Ethernet over copper) is nearing completion and is expected to be ratified by September. Although there have been no significant technical changes in the draft standard since July of 1998, editorial and administrative circumstances require that the draft be recirculated. The revised schedule for ratification was determined by actions of the 802.3 Working Group, the committee responsible for development of Ethernet standards, during the IEEE plenary meetings held last week in Austin, Texas.

"The technical content of the draft standard is very stable as demonstrated by the minimal number of technical changes. During last week's meetings, seven major silicon developers indicated their confidence in the current draft and stated they are developing chipsets based on it," explained Willem Wery, Technical Marketing Manager for Intel Corporation, Vice-Chair of the Gigabit Ethernet Alliance and an attendee of last week's meeting.

"Silicon vendors are committed to 1000BASE-T and are confident in the technical integrity of the 802.3ab draft standard," stated Juan Jover, Strategic Marketing Manager, Level One Communications and an attendee of last week's meeting.

Obtaining ratification of the draft by the IEEE Standards Board is the final step in the standards process. Because of the IEEE schedule of meetings, the next opportunity for the Standards Board to meet and ratify the draft standard will be September 1999.

"There is a great deal of industry and customer excitement about 1000BASE-T," said Bruce Tolley, Business Development Manager, 3Com Corp., Vice-Chair of the Gigabit Ethernet Alliance and an attendee of last week's meetings. "Many silicon and networking vendors are committed to the technology, and customers are interested because most of the cabling installed inside buildings today is Cat 5 UTP. 1000BASE-T will enable the deployment of Gigabit Ethernet into this large installed base and preserves the investment network managers have made in existing cabling infrastructure."

The 802.3ab specification will enable Gigabit Ethernet to operate over distances of up to 100 meters using four pairs of Category 5 (CAT-5) balanced copper wiring. Additionally, it will outline operation, testing and usage requirements of Gigabit Ethernet for the installed base of CAT-5 copper wiring, which includes most of the cabling within buildings.

The Gigabit Ethernet Alliance was organized around common objectives that support the activities of IEEE 802.3 (the standards body responsible for Gigabit Ethernet). This multi-vendor effort is committed to providing customers with open, cost-effective, and interoperable Gigabit Ethernet solutions for both fiber and copper cabling environments. Representatives from approximately 120 networking, computer, component, and test equipment companies participate in the Alliance. For more information about the Gigabit Ethernet Alliance, visit the web site at: www.gigabit-ethernet.org.

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