LEA and Europractice co-operate on xDSL ASICs

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Aug 22, 2003

French xDSL specialist LEA is opening a design centre in Antwerp, Belgium, and is working with the Europractice IC Service on next-generation integrated xDSL products.

French xDSL specialist LEA is opening a design centre in Antwerp, Belgium, and is working with the Europractice IC Service on next-generation integrated xDSL products.

Operating under the name LEA ABC (ASICs for Broadband Communications) the Antwerp operation will be the new centre of competence for ASIC integration within LEA, which also has sites at Rennes and Paris in France, in the UK, the USA and the Far East.

At the same time the company has signed a co-operation agreement with the Europractice IC Service, the European provider of low-cost prototype ICs and small volume production co-ordinated by IMEC.

The two organisations will work together to develop a new generation of ASICs for xDSL, combining LEA's expertise in broadband telecomms with IMEC's knowledge of ASICs.

The Flanders region in Belgium is recognised worldwide as the European centre for excellence for ASIC design, and the central location of Antwerp was chosen to establish LEA ABC.

"With this new design centre and the strategic technological partnership, LEA continues a strategy focused on excellence and mastering advanced broadband silicon connectivity solutions", says Eric Berthaud, CEO of LEA.