Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line developer Aware Inc has agreed to co-develop its products with networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. Cisco and Aware are unprepared to disclose the nature of the arrangement as their plans are not complete, but according to an Aware spokesperson were forced to because of Security and Exchange Commission requirements. Cisco has been moving all year to develop ADSL products; it acquired ISDN specialist Telesend Inc (CI No 3,129) and also got ISDN DSL technology for which worldwide demand has been flat. It then made a $128m acquisition of Dagaz Technologies for Rate Adaptive ADSL CAP technology (CI No 3,213), which UK Marketing Manager Nigel Moulton believes will be first to establish itself in the market, as it is available now. However, CAP will be superseded by the superior DMT standard, as integration of Asynchronous Transfer Mode onto DMT is easier, which helps telecoms carriers. This is where Aware fits into Cisco’s strategy because it develops chipsets for the production of ADSL devices using Discrete Multi Tone technology, which is the alternative to AT&T Corp spin off Paradyne Corp’s older Carrierless Amplitude Phase Modulation, CAP, standard. DMT also has the advantage of soon being fully standardized and going through a second round with American National Standards Institute by the end of the year. Like all the other ADSL players Cisco is hedging it bets on CAP/DMT. Bedford, Massachusetts-based Aware already has licensing agreements for its technology with 3Com’s US Robotics division, and with Ascend Communications Inc, which have both firmly said that they will make their ADSL DMT equipment interoperable, and both already have already shipped CAP products.
