Network Processors Finally Enter the Telecom Equipment Mainstream, New Study Finds

Network Processors Finally Enter the Telecom Equipment
Mainstream, New Study Finds
Heavy Reading Report Says Growing Use of NPUS by Major Manufacturers Boosted
Sector Revenues by 150% In 2004 


NEW YORK, Jan. 21  /PRNewswire/ -- After several years of poor sales, makers of
network processor components are finally seeing a meaningful rise in revenue,
as many of the world's largest telecom equipment makers start incorporating
network processors into their products, according to a major new study released
today by Heavy Reading (http://www.heavyreading.com/), the market research
division of Light Reading Inc.

Network Processors: A Heavy Reading Competitive Analysis delivers a complete
accounting of the network processor market, with detailed technology and price
comparisons of more than 80 different products from 16 manufacturers, including
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC), Agere Systems Inc. (NYSE:AGR.A), Applied Micro
Circuits Corp. (NASDAQ:AMCC), and Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ:BRCM). The report
includes full coverage not only of components now on the market, but also those
that are scheduled to be available in the next year.

Although first-generation network processors hit the market five years ago, the
collapse of the telecom investment bubble kept equipment makers from developing
new products to take advantage of the technology, notes report author Simon
Stanley, a Heavy Reading Analyst at Large. "Unit sales of network processors
began to grow in 2003, leading to significant recovery in 2004," says Stanley,
who estimates that network processors generated $150 million in revenue last
year -- a 150 percent increase over 2003 revenues.

  The report covers all components in these four product categories:

   * Control-plane processors
   * Communications processors
   * 2.5-Gbit/s network processing units (NPUs)
   * 10-Gbit/s NPUs

  Other key findings of the report include:

   Network processors are now a mainstream technology. The world's largest
   telecom equipment vendors are now using network processors for
   applications from the edge to the core of the network. These
   manufacturers include Alcatel SA, Cisco Systems Inc., Huawei Technologies
   Co. Ltd., Lucent Technologies Inc., Siemens AG, and Samsung Corp.

   Carrier access is the key market for NPU suppliers in 2005. Demand for
   network processors is highest in the access network. Components vendors
   are developing fast-path NPUs and integrated communications processors to
   address this market.

   10-Gbit/s NPUs are now shipping in volume. Five different components
   vendors are now in commercial production with 10-Gbit/s NPUs: AMCC, Bay
   Microsystems, EZchip, Intel, and Sandburst.

   Integrated packet switching is fast becoming a standard feature of
   control-plane processors. New control-plane processors from Broadcom,
   Freescale, and PMC-Sierra integrate a packet-switching capability.

   Network Processors: A Heavy Reading Competitive Analysis, an 80-page
   report, is published in PDF format and costs $3,495. The price includes
   an enterprise license covering all of the employees at the purchaser's
   company.

  For more information, or to request a free executive summary, contact:

   Dave Williams
   Sales Director, Heavy Reading
   415-321-3750, ext. 30
   

   Press/analyst contact:
   Dennis Mendyk
   Managing Director, Heavy Reading
   201-587-2154
   

  About Heavy Reading


Heavy Reading is an independent market research organization offering
quantitative analysis of telecom technology to service providers, vendors, and
investors. Its mandate is to provide the comprehensive competitive analysis
needed today for the deployment of profitable networks based on next-
generation hardware and software. 

DATASOURCE: Heavy Reading



CONTACT: Dave Williams, Sales Director, [phone], ext. 30,

, or Dennis Mendyk, Managing Director,

press/analyst contact, [phone], , both of Heavy

Reading 



Web site:  http://www.lightreading.com/

http://www.heavyreading.com/ 

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