Unlike other solutions on the market, which combine a DSP from one supplier and a silicon DAA from another, for as many as three chips, the 3Com modem consists of only two chips, making the solution smaller and less expensive. ADI uses an engineering-intensive, handpacked VLSI layout methodology to produce the chipset with absolutely minimal die areas. We feel our custom methodology achieves results superior to those possible when using physical design synthesis technology. We are confident that the cost structure associated with this solution for 3Com is the lowest in the world. Headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts, the company employs approximately 7,000 people worldwide and has manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, Ireland, the Philippines and Taiwan.
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In every country, telephone service providers mandate that all modems be electrically isolated from the public telephone line. Over the past few years, digital circuits have become much denser, making the DAA the modem's biggest and bulkiest part. Prior to the availability of silicon DAAs, modem designers used a multitude of discrete and active components, along with a bulky, high-voltage transformer, to implement the DAA function. Silicon DAA circuits use other means, such as capacitors or optical components, to provide isolation more compactly, more cheaply, and typically with other benefits, including lower power consumption and broader compliance with international standards. Lower power and small size facilitates use in tiny form factors as small as a Type I or II PC card, or even the tiny confines of a palmtop computer.