ITRAN Introduces 2.5Mbit/s ITM1, the First Broadband Rate Power Line Chip Modem to Be Launched to The Market  

ITRAN ITM1 chip features high throughput capabilities, superior performance and is ideal for Internet distribution, home networking applications and residential access.

Tel Aviv, ISRAEL, Feb. 16, 2000

ITRAN Communications LTD. opens the world of home networking over power line by introducing its ITM1 power line modem ASIC. The ITM1 is the first available ASIC to reach broadband speeds and connectivity over existing power line infrastructures.

The fast growing number of homes with more than one PC, the fast proliferation of broadband Internet access devices such as xDSL and cable modem and the growing availability of Internet appliances and smart objects, are driving consumer demand for low cost, reliable solutions to interconnect their computers, peripherals and domestic appliances and provide home networking capabilities. ITM1 is the most advanced ideal solution available today, enabling device interconnection via the existing power line infrastructure.

With ITM1 domestic devices can participate in network applications like file sharing, connection to peripherals and Internet connectivity.

In addition, system manufactures will have a convenient means of distributing residential broadband content from cable, XDSL and POTS modems to any device at home. ITM1 is also suitable solution for electrical utilities looking to provide Internet services over the power grid running from the transformer to the home (residential access).

ITM1, small physical size makes it, ideal for integration into network cards, wall plugged box, inside computer peripherals or consumer electronics. ITM1 is flexible enough to support diverse architectures scaling from small private network to utility access communications systems.

According to Avner Matmor, President and CEO of ITRAN Communications, "This chip is a technological breakthrough in power line communications that so far was limited to control and automation applications. ITM1's high speed features enable a wide range of home networking applications that require fast data transfer rate. With the ITM1 chip, we expect to see wide spread of home applications with seemless connectivity using the existing power lines, taking a considerable share in the fast growing home networking market."

Rich Functionality - ITM1 Key features

ITRAN 2.5 Mbit/s ITM1 provides efficient utilization of the available bit rate.

It requires low cost bill of material for the analog front end (only passive peripheral components). It operates reliably over all in-home distances even in the largest homes, both in the same phase and cross phase. It supports flexible per packet bit rate, power level and provides channel quality indication. Hardware support for Low level MACs is implemented to allow the ITM1 to be connected to low cost microcontrollers.

ITM1 the Complete Solution Power Line Modem

Transparent Network Integration

The ITM1 is specifically designed for seamless integration into networking environments that utilize CSMA/CD/CA techniques, Packet Reservation, Token passing, Point Coordination or Synchronous protocols (TDMA).

During development ITRAN placed increased emphasis on achieving low-delay and collision avoidance while keeping protocol overhead to a minimum. Consequently, ITM1 includes significant product enhancements in the areas of packet loss, latency and bandwidth utilization.

These features make ITM1 compatible with legacy and emerging IP and multi-media networking technologies including streaming audio, data and compressed video transmissions.

Cost-effective Performance and Reliability

Competitive comparisons show, taking into consideration critical areas such as performance and reliability, that ITM1 is the most cost-effective solution on the market today. This is firstly made possible by an extensive cost-reduction process and secondly through utilization of a standard 0.35µ CMOS process in the fabrication process.

Inexpensive to produce, ITRAN ITM1 provides an easy to integrate solution which is cost-effective, reliable, flexible and rich in functionality. This amounts to significant cost-reductions for the system manufacturer, which in turn can be used to beat the consumers price expectations for power line compatible solutions.

Design Simplicity with Superior Performance

Key to the superior performance and reliability offered by ITM1 is the use of ACSK (Adaptive Code Shift Keying) modulation technique. This patent pending technology is the secret to why ITRAN's ITM1 greatly outperforms existing or proposed IC's at a fraction of the cost.

Every aspect of ITM1 is designed with simplicity in mind. The chip includes analog blocks specially designed to minimize the external components required for implementation of the power line communication interface and flexible system architectures.

ITRAN's implementation of an integrated low-level MAC within the hardware alleviates the need for stringent access timing constraints from the host microprocessor. Once again, further incorporating a significant cost-reduction to the already inexpensive bill-of-material required for the system manufactures final solution. Integration of the MAC and other functionality in next version of the chip will further decrease system cost.

Delivering the Reliability Customers Expect

The inherent reliability of ACSK technology as well as implementation of ITRAN's special signal processing and coding algorithms makes the ITM1 particularly robust to interference and distortions which characterizes the power line communication medium.

The ITM1 has undergone extensive testing in almost every imaginable home-networking scenario. These tests proved that the technologies, inherent to ITM1 are reliable, robust and safe.

Standards Compliance

The ITM1 spread spectrum transmission greatly reduces the PSD (Power Spectral Density) of the signal within the limits set in FCC regulations part 15. To further reduce the emission of ITM1 includes a power level controller so that only the minimum power is transmitted. In addition to the power level controller, ITM1 includes programmable notch filtering, further reducing incidental interference in frequency bands used by devices such as those in the medical and amateur radio equipment categories.

The ITM1 will be commercially available in Q2 2000, ITM1 data sheet is available to customers.

ITRAN Communications Ltd. is a world leader in the development of VLSI components and cutting edge technologies, targeting the power line communications market place. ITRAN chips enable "no new wires", existing infrastructure networks between a wide range of electrical appliances and devices. ITRAN offers a wide spectrum of broadband and narrow band solutions aimed at the home networking, residential access and home automation markets. ITRAN delivers the most advanced low cost and reliable high speed network components available today for implementation of broadband and multimedia networks over power line. ITRAN also develops an advanced line of reliable long distance components that enable transmission control, telemetry and low speed data transmission capabilities. Among ITRAN customers are corporations ranging from home appliances and personal computing to networking, telephony and utility providers.