Last-mile equipment provider introduced

Pacific Broadband Communications formally introduced itself today, announcing plans to enter last-mile markets with an initial focus on standards-based cable products.

PBC’s initial technology addresses second generation DOCSIS equipment and will be demonstrated in Los Angeles, near the site of the Western Cable show.

Most first generation DOCSIS equipment, based on common media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) technologies, does not allow for telephony and video to be provided efficiently over the same platform, said David Solomon, vice president of marketing for PBC.

In addition, he said, these two layers were developed by different people at different times, leading to inefficient integration.

By focusing on second generation DOCSIS equipment with the MAC and PHY layers more tightly integrated, the company said it can plans produce higher density, higher performance and lower noise products.

“A lot of us came from first generation companies,” he said. “We’ve all been there and done it… Now we’re saying ‘If I could only do it again, what would I do differently.’”

Though the company’s initial focus is on cable products, Solomon anticipates an eventual entry into the wireless broadband and DSL markets.

Founded in 1999, PBC has 130 employees based in San Jose and Paris and is building its leadership team. Alok Sharma is president and chief technology officer, and Hikmet Sari serves as chief scientist. Board members include Tony Werner, president and CEO of Aurora Networks and former chief technology officer for AT&T Broadband; Alex Best, chief technology officer at Cox Communications; and Atiq Raza, PBC chairman and also head of Raza Foundries, which has invested $10 million in PBC.

Raza Foundries also has supplied engineering and management support to the new company, a move Solomon estimates has sped PBC’s development by six to nine months.

Nevertheless, PBC is a still a start-up. The company does not currently have a CEO, customers or announced products, and it does not plan to begin production on any products until the second half of 2001.