The Linley Group Releases Focused Report on FPGAs in Communications

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, Jul 13 (MARKET WIRE) --
Signifying the rising deployment of field programmable gate arrays
(FPGAs) for critical communications functions, The Linley Group today
released a brand new report, "A Guide to FPGAs for Communications."
Representing the first of its kind from The Linley Group, the report
expands the company's published technology analysis reports to reflect
the impact of FPGAs on the overall communications market. Unlike typical
market research firms, The Linley Group provides in-depth technology
analysis and head-to-head product comparisons to determine which FPGAs
are best suited for specific applications.

"FPGAs have transitioned from simple glue logic solutions to sophisticated
devices performing complex, high-performance communications functions,"
said Jag Bolaria, senior analyst with The Linley Group. "Now used for
traffic management, protocol bridging, and baseband processing, FPGAs lead
the industry in process technology and can satisfy the computational and
data rate needs of many emerging applications, including 40 Gigabit
Ethernet (GbE) and 100GbE systems. Our report provides a roadmap to the
complex FPGA product lines of market leaders, while contrasting the use of
FPGAs vs. off-the-shelf ASSPs and ASICs for enterprise equipment,
broadband infrastructure, telecom switches, and wireless base stations."

While previous reports have included high-level FPGA coverage, this new
report is the first from The Linley Group to focus entirely on FPGAs,
reflecting the growing impact these devices are having on emerging
communications applications.

The Linley Group forecasts FPGA revenue will reach $3.5 billion by 2013,
outpacing the overall semiconductor market. According to the report, FPGAs
are increasingly used in place of ASICs and ASSPs. Increased densities,
performance and customization will continue to fuel this trend. The
devices deliver greater flexibility than their ASIC and ASSP counterparts,
and integrate application-specific intellectual property (IP) needed by a
wide range of communications applications. FPGA market leaders, Xilinx and
Altera, provide the broadest range of FPGAs for communication
applications, and offer more IP blocks than their competitors. The report
also covers innovative solutions from smaller suppliers such as Lattice,
Achronix, and Cswitch.

Despite their popularity, FPGAs can also present design challenges that
are detailed in the report. Use of an FPGA requires knowledge of ASIC
design tool and processes, which are more complex than the processes
required to use ASSPs and processors. The greater flexibility and
performance benefits, however, offset these challenges for many
applications. The report advises OEMs and silicon startups on how FPGAs
can be used to create market-leading products.

Availability

"A Guide to FPGAs for Communications, First Edition" is currently
available directly from The Linley Group and is priced at $2,995 for a
single-user license. For further details, visit the web site at
http://www.linleygroup.com/Reports/fpga_guide.html

About The Linley Group

The Linley Group celebrates 10 years as the industry's leading source for
independent technology analysis of semiconductors for networking,
communications, mobile, and wireless. The company provides strategic
consulting services, more than a dozen in-depth analytical reports, and
Linley Tech seminars focused on advanced technology topics. For insights
on recent industry news subscribe to "Linley Wire" and "Linley on
Mobile," the company's free newsletters.

Note to editors: To speak to an analyst from The Linley Group about this
report, please contact: Erika Powelson, Orr & Company, 831.424.1811 or
email erika@orr-co.com.

Company Contact:
Candace Doyle
The Linley Group
408.370.7631
candaced@linleygroup.com
Web site: www.linleygroup.com

Public Relations Contact:
Erika Powelson
Orr & Company
831.424.1811
erika@orr-co.com

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