Broadcom Announces Industry’s First Cable Set-Top Box Solutions with Integrated DVB-C Tuners

--Innovative Technology Enables Cost Effective Solutions for China’s Growing Cable TV Market

BEIJING -- CCBN 2009 -- Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced two new cable set-top box (STB) system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions that address the growing demand for digital cable services in China.

These cable STB solutions feature the industry’s first integrated high performance DVB-C cable tuner developed in 65 nanometer (nm) technology, and with integrated advanced security and sophisticated power management, enable manufacturers to develop next generation, cost effective and power efficient STBs. For interactive applications, one solution - the BCM7003 - includes a 10/100 Fast Ethernet media access controller (MAC) that enables two-way interactive services such as video-on-demand (VoD), digital video recorder (DVR) functionality and Internet browsing. Broadcom’s new STB SoC solutions will be demonstrated at this week’s China Content Broadcasting Network (CCBN) Conference in Broadcom’s booth #3501.

According to In-Stat market research, the transition to digital cable TV in China entered its fifth phase in mid-2008 and continues to rapidly proceed in virtually all areas of the country. More than 37 million people subscribe to digital cable in China and more than 70 municipalities have completed their upgrade to digital services. With phenomenal growth (total STB shipments reached 11 million units by mid-2008 doubling 2007 shipments), new STB technology continues to be required for Chinese cable operators as they continue to upgrade their networks for two-way operation to enable the deployment of advanced services such as VoD, DVR and Internet browsing.

“With more than 150 cities throughout China working toward two-way network upgrades, the market potential is enormous for interactive services over cable,” said Michael Zhang, Analyst for In-Stat. “The number of Chinese digital cable subscribers is projected to reach 135 million by 2013 with set-top box revenue in China expected to peak at $1.3 billion (USD) in 2011.”

To meet this burgeoning market opportunity, the company announces the Broadcom® BCM7003 interactive two-way standard definition (SD) cable solution (with 10/100 Ethernet and USB 2.0 DVR functionality) and the Broadcom BCM7004 SD basic cable solution. Both single-chip solutions are targeted for the digital cable TV market in China, as well as supporting worldwide cable standards for the world’s set-top box markets including India, Europe, Latin America, South America and Asia. Both solutions include the industry’s first 65nm enhanced performance DVB-C tuner with a 64-1024 QAM demodulator, advanced security transport processor and MPEG-2 A/V decoder and graphics engine.

Both the BCM7003 and BCM7004 include proven advanced security capabilities and feature a toolkit of security components to meet a wide range of smart card-based and card-less conditional access system requirements. The chip solutions are permanently factory-programmed with a unique identification and security configuration where they can be managed and utilized as part of advanced security policies.

The new STB solutions also include advanced power management features that reduce power to less than one-tenth of a watt (0.1 watt) in standby mode while complying with energy-efficient standards including those outlined in the European Code of Conduct. The BCM7003 features USB connectivity, and in conjunction with Broadcom’s DVR software, enables cost effective DVR applications utilizing an external USB hard disk drive. The BCM7004 has the same features and functionality as the BCM7003 but does not include Ethernet and USB connectivity.

“We have developed the most integrated and cost effective solutions in support of China’s burgeoning digital cable market that is quickly migrating to two-way networking services and interactive applications,” said John Gleiter, Senior Director of Product Marketing for Broadcom’s Set-Top Box line of business. “Featuring Ethernet, USB 2.0 connectivity and an industry first integrated DVB-C tuner, our BCM7003 enables STB manufacturers and operators to realize the financial and user benefits of two-way network upgrades in China through the deployment of interactive services over cable.”

Technical Information

The BCM7003 and BCM7004 are the industry’s most highly integrated, low power cable STB receivers that combine the functionality of a complete cable tuner-to-NTSC/PAL (National Television Systems Committee/Phase Alternating Line) converter on a single chip design. Providing QAM signal decoding, the BCM7003 is targeted at standard definition cable interactive and USB 2.0 DVR applications, while the BCM7004 is targeted at basic standard definition cable applications.

Minimizing part count while providing ease of manufacturing, the BCM7003 and BCM7004 completely integrate the cable tuner, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs) that simplify system design and cost, and have direct interfaces to other system components including serial Flash, push buttons and an infrared (IR) receiver.

Both the BCM7003 and BCM7004 include an MPEG-2 digital video broadcasting (DVB)-compliant transport processor with advanced section filtering, an MPEG-2 video decoder, a Dolby® AC3/MPEG-2 audio decoder, a pair of analog audio outputs and a single NTSC/PAL video encoder with analog output.

Availability and Pricing

The BCM7003 and BCM7004 cable STB receivers are now sampling to early access customers. Pricing is available upon request to set-top box manufacturers.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry’s broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything®.

Broadcom is one of the world’s largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2008 revenue of $4.66 billion, and holds over 3,100 U.S. and over 1,400 foreign patents, more than 7,600 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video, data and multimedia.

Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at www.broadcom.com.

Cautions regarding Forward Looking Statements:

All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management’s beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing,” similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the demand for standard definition set-top box products that support interactive services, our position in that market, and the timing of volume production for BCM7003 and BCM7004 cable set-top box receivers. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.

Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with BCM7003 and BCM7004 cable set-top box receivers include, but are not limited to

-- the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt
Broadcom’s technologies and products in the markets for next
generation PC, cable, satellite, IPTV and terrestrial set-top box
applications;
-- delays in the adoption and acceptance of industry standards in those
markets;
-- general economic and political conditions and specific conditions in the
markets we address, including the volatility in the technology sector
and semiconductor industry, trends in the broadband communications
markets in various geographic regions, including seasonality in sales of
consumer products into which our products are incorporated, and possible
disruption in commercial activities related to terrorist activity or
armed conflict in the United States and other locations;
-- the risks and uncertainties associated with our international
operations; and
-- the effects of natural disasters, public health emergencies,
international conflicts and other events beyond our control.


Additional factors that may cause Broadcom’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to the list that can be found at http://www.broadcom.com/press/additional_risk_factors/Q12009.php.

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.

Broadcom, the pulse logo, Connecting everything, and the Connecting everything logo and are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Blu-ray Disc is a trademark of the Blu-ray Disc Association. Dolby is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.