Ethernets running at 100Mbps are promised by Grand Junction Networks Inc, a new company in Union City, California formed in February by Howard Charney, a founder and former executive of 3Com Corp. Calling the thing simply Fast Ethernet, Charney describes it as a high speed extension to the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard that will enable current 10Mbps Ethernet users to migrate easily to 100Mbps Ethernet. Charney says that while alternative high speed systems, such as Fibre Distributed Data Interface are well-suited for backbone and long distance applications, Fast Ethernet is ideally suited for desktop deployment because it is based on Ethernet. Grand Junction says it is working with multiple vendors to reach an agreement on the Fast Ethernet specification, and to ensure appropriate consideration by the IEEE 802.3 committee, which Charney says exercised great foresight in drafting the Ethernet specification so that it is easily extended to meet emerging customer needs. Grand Junction expects that Fast Ethernet-based products will be available from multiple vendors by the end of 1993. The firm raised $4.5m in its first round of venture funding; Bob Metcalfe, lead inventor of Ethernet and a 3Com founder, is on the board.
