Silicon Systems Inc has taken an unspecified equity stake in Level One Communications as part of a cross-licensing and development agreement. Electronic News says that Silicon Systems will have access to specified local area network and primary rate transceiver circuits designed by Level One, and it may modify or design derivatives of specified 10Base-T media attachments and transceivers. In return, Silicon Systems will supply Level One with 1.5 and 1.25 micron foundry services, and Martin Jurick, senior vice-president of corporate planning at Silicon Systems, is to serve on the board of Level One. Level One has recently introduced a pair of time compression multiplex transceiver circuits that facilitate long-haul operation. In systems using 24AWG twisted-pair station cable, the system is claimed to operate in loops up to 2,000 yards. The LXT131 is an integrated VLSI transceiver for high-speed voice transmission over unshielded twisted-pair subscriber loops, and is claimed to be suitable for use with standard codecs, with digital telephones, voice and data PABXs and short-haul modems. The LXT135 is a quad version of of the 131 for line termination applications and it provides transmission for four sets of twisted-pair lines. It is designed for subscriber loop applications and used in cards for digital phone systems, PABXs, key telephone systems and short-haul modems. In quantities of 5,000 and more, the LXT131 costs $6.50 in 16-pin ceramic packages, and the LXT135 is $22.06 for 28-pin ceramic packages.
