NEWS RELEASE

IEEE and Gigabit Ethernet Alliance Announce Formal Ratification of Gigabit Ethernet Over Copper Standard

Contacts:

IEEE Contact: Markus Plessel
Marketing Administrator
732-562-3989
m.plessel@ieee.org

GEA Contact: Marilyn Callaghan
Callaghan Communications
Phone: 650-342-6087
mcallagh@pacbell.net

Completion Of 1000BASE-T High-Speed Standard Enables Deployment of
1000 Mb/s Ethernet over both Installed Copper and Fiber Cabling Infrastructure

For Release: Immediate

PALO ALTO, Calif., and PISCATAWAY, NJ,- June 28, 1999 - Members of the IEEE and the Gigabit Ethernet Alliance today announced that the final milestone in the IEEE standards approval process was reached last week when the 1000BASE-T specification for Gigabit Ethernet over copper (also known as IEEE Std 802.3ab) was unanimously approved as an IEEE standard by the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Standards Board. The standard defines Gigabit Ethernet operation over distances of up to 100 meters using four pairs of CAT-5 balanced copper cabling.

Completion of the 1000BASE-T standard completes the cabling media connection types for Gigabit Ethernet. The 1000BASE-T standard outlines 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 earlier Gigabit Ethernet Standard (IEEE 802.3z) which was ratified in June 1998 defined transceivers that operated on the installed base of multimode and single mode fiber. Now network managers can deploy 1000BASE-T over the installed CAT-5 cabling with confidence.

"1000BASE-T is important for three reasons," commented Colin Mick, technical editor of the IEEE 802.3ab Task Force. "First, most of the cabling installed inside buildings today is CAT-5 UTP, and 1000BASE-T will enable Gigabit Ethernet operation over this installed base. Second, 1000BASE-T, on a per-connection basis, is expected to be very cost-effective which will stimulate market demand. Finally, 1000BASE-T allows auto-negotiation between 100 and 1000 Mb/s which eases the migration path for customers."

The completion of the Gigabit Ethernet 1000BASE-T standard is the culmination of two-and-a-half years of intense effort within the IEEE 802.3 Working Group. The broad industry interest in Gigabit Ethernet over copper was evidenced by the large number of companies and people active in development of the standard.

"Our ability to meet such an aggressive schedule was possible only through the professionalism and extreme dedication of the 1000BASE-T Task Force members," according to Geoff Thompson of Bay Nortel Networks, chairman of the 802.3 Working Group. "The skill and foresight of these experts were such that the core functionality of the specifications changed little over the course of the standards process."

Ratification took place during IEEE Standards Board meetings on June 24-26, following completion of a final sponsor recirculation ballot on draft 802.3ab/D6. The recirculation ballot produced no new technical comments. The ratification results from a review by RevCom (the IEEE-SA Standards Board Standards Review Committee) and the IEEE-SA Standards Board, who are responsible for ensuring that IEEE procedures were followed in developing the standard.

"The final approval of the 1000BASE-T standard allows silicon vendors to confidently deliver components that meet industry and customer expectations," stated Juan Jover, Strategic Marketing Manager, Level One Communications. "Components supporting the new Gigabit Ethernet standard will enable products to fulfill the demand for high-performance networking while remaining backward compatible with legacy Ethernet networks."

According to James Barry, chief information officer for Insurance Holdings of America (IHA), "1000BASE-T is a very exciting technology because it will enable me to deploy Gigabit Ethernet over my existing Cat 5 copper cabling without any forklift upgrades to cabling infrastructure or installed Fast Ethernet equipment. It will also allow me to support applications that demand very high bandwidth to wiring closets and, in time, to desktops." Through advanced networking applications using Gigabit Ethernet, IHA is revolutionizing the way insurance is sold to customers.

About the IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD (Ethernet) Working Group

The IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD (Ethernet) Working Group is part of the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee (LMSC). The IEEE 802 LMSC is sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society and submits standards through the IEEE Standards Association. The IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional society. The members and volunteers of the IEEE are the technical and scientific professionals making the revolutionary engineering advances that are reshaping our world today. This includes the development of leading-edge electro- and information technology standards used throughout the industry.

About the Gigabit Ethernet Alliance

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, contact Marilyn Callaghan, Callaghan Communications at: mcallagh@pacbell.net

Copyright (c) 1999, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE).
All rights reserved.

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