For Release: November 15, 2001
Efficient Channel Coding Relies On Altera To Power iPSTAR Broadband Satellite System
APEX™ 20KE PLDs, MegaCore® IP, and HardCopy™ Devices Make Compelling Solution
San Jose, Calif., November 15, 2001 -- Altera Corporation (Nasdaq: ALTR) and Efficient Channel Coding, Inc. (ECC) announced today that ECC has developed key portions of the iPSTAR Broadband Satellite System using Altera's System-On-a-Programmable Chip (SOPC) solutions. ECC leveraged the power of Altera's APEX™ 20KE devices and MegaCore® intellectual property (IP) to reduce development time, lower costs, and meet their performance goals. The iPSTAR system allows Internet service providers to deliver low-cost broadband Internet access with multi-gigabit per second data rates per user. ECC designed the consumer terminal for the iPSTAR end user, as well as the transmitter and receiver head-end equipment for service providers.
"Altera offers us a comprehensive solution of high-performance PLDs, intuitive yet powerful intellectual property, and excellent technical support, which is why we are using their SOPC products in all of the iPSTAR components we developed," stated Frank Schossler, vice president of business operations. "Their APEX 20KE PLDs were critical in our efforts to meet the speeds we needed for our turbo product codes, as well as other required digital signal processing (DSP) functions."
Schossler continued, "Besides allowing us to quickly realize these complex products in a short amount of time, another reason for selecting Altera was their cost reduction path to HardCopy™ devices, which is unique among PLD vendors. Reducing production costs will become increasingly important to us, especially as the iPSTAR customer premise equipment is deployed in volume."
ECC specializes in developing communications-oriented DSP functions, including high-performance Forward Error Correction (FEC) and advanced transport processing. ECC's technologies increase the capacity of the iPSTAR system by a factor of four when compared to traditional air interfaces. In order to meet their design goals for the iPSTAR system, ECC required a flexible, high-performance device that could implement these DSP functions at the required speed. Altera met their performance needs with APEX 20KE devices, and also offered valuable customizable IP in the form of their PCI Compiler and finite-impulse response (FIR) Compiler, which allows users to build their own custom PCI interfaces and FIR filters with push-button simplicity.
"By offering a complete package of intellectual property, a programmable logic vehicle for high-performance DSP functions, and a seamless path to cost reduction via HardCopy devices, Altera continues to be an enabling force for exciting applications like the iPSTAR system," stated Alain Bismuth, vice president of vertical markets strategy at Altera. "We look forward to our continued association with technology leaders like ECC and providing them with the SOPC solutions they need to build innovative and successful products."
About Efficient Channel Coding
Efficient Channel Coding, Inc. (ECC) provides advanced physical layer electronic components, subsystems, and intellectual property. The company is dedicated to delivering high capacity solutions that offer scalability and significant cost reductions in today's advanced optical, wireless, and satellite networks. ECC technology is currently being used in wide range of networks embodied as Application Specific Integrated Circuits, Field Programmable Gate Arrays, and Programmable Digital Signal Processors. ECC's key, patented IP enables these implementations with scalability to Gbps data rates. In addition to current product offerings, ECC is developing new, forward-looking products that offer standards-based integration and best-in-class performance in targeted markets. More information on ECC is available on the Internet at http://www.efficientchannelcoding.com.
About Altera
Altera Corporation, The Programmable Solutions Company®, was founded in 1983 and is a leading supplier of programmable logic devices (PLDs). Altera's CMOS-based PLDs are user-programmable semiconductor chips that enhance flexibility and reduce time-to-market for companies in the communications, computer peripheral, and industrial markets. By using high performance devices, software development tools, and sophisticated intellectual property cores, system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions can be created with embedded processors, memory, and other complex logic together on a single PLD. Altera common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ALTR. More information on Altera is available on the Internet at http://www.altera.com.
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