BEAVERTON, OR -- (Marketwired) -- Mar 30, 2016 -- The NBASE-T Alliance, an industry-wide cooperative effort to promote the development of 2.5 and 5 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) over twisted pair copper cabling (2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T), today announced it is continuing to rapidly expand with the addition of three new member companies, first election to add a board member representing its Contributor Members, and the announcement of NBASE-T products by over a dozen member companies.

"The alliance continues to play a critical role in the deployment of product solutions that bring 2.5G and 5G data rates to wired networks that previously tapped out at Gigabit Ethernet," said Peter Jones, chairman of the NBASE-T Alliance. "The growing list of chips, systems, reference designs and test equipment that support the NBASE-T specification accelerates the adoption of these new data rates in a wide range of applications -- particularly in the enterprise as WAVE 2 wireless devices become pervasive."

New members include electronic design automation heavyweight Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ: CDNS), networking equipment manufacturer NETGEAR (NASDAQ: NTGR) and video connectivity specialist Pleora Technologies. With the additions, the alliance's membership roster now includes nearly 50 companies working to deliver solutions that support the NBASE-T specification, as well as the emerging IEEE 802.3bz standard.

The alliance also added a new board member, electing George Zimmerman, a 30-year industry expert in Ethernet and communications. Zimmerman will become the first board representative of the group's Contributor Members. Until now, and in accordance with its bylaws, only Promoter Members have served on the board.

President and principal consultant at CME Consulting, Zimmerman acts in a variety of capacities to advance Ethernet technology. Among his many roles, he currently serves as the Technical Committee Chair of the Ethernet Alliance and the Chief Editor of the IEEE P802.3bz™ 2.5G / 5GBASE-T Task Force.

The NBASE-T Specification: Providing the Foundation for a New Standard

Since its inception at the end of 2014, the NBASE-T Alliance has provided an industry forum for discussing and resolving technical issues in order to streamline the development of a 2.5G/5G Ethernet standard -- known as IEEE 802.3bz. Through the availability of the NBASE-T specification, the alliance has provided a critical tool in enabling members to test drive their solutions, and in fact, accelerate standards development in advance of ratification.

As work continues in the coming year to deliver a ratified IEEE standard, the NBASE-T Alliance will refine and augment its own specifications, while formalizing its plans for a certification program.

About the NBASE-T Alliance

The NBASE-T Alliance is an industry-wide cooperative effort focused on enabling the development and deployment of products that support 2.5G and 5GBASE-T Ethernet. The alliance publishes specifications, sponsors and implements interoperability and certification programs, and facilitates consensus for the purpose of finalizing the IEEE 802.3bz standard. The alliance has developed and released the NBASE-T specification that is compatible with the technical baselines defined in the current draft of the IEEE 802.3bz standard. The specification enables member companies to immediately develop and deploy 2.5G and 5GBASE-T products, making use of the large, installed base of copper cabling, such as Cat5e and Cat6, found in enterprise networks, home networks and service providers. The alliance was founded in 2014 and its current board of directors is composed of representatives from Aquantia, Cisco, CME Consulting, Intel, Marvell, NXP and Xilinx. Visit us at www.nbaset.org or connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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