Integrated Telecom Technology
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Semiconductor |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Founder | Ken Lee, Greg Werth, Imran Chaudhri, Jerry Tall, Chi Wai |
| Defunct | 2003 |
| Fate | Acquired by PMC-Sierra in 1998; Gaithersburg office closed in 2003 |
| Headquarters | Gaithersburg, Maryland , United States |
Area served | Communications semiconductor market |
Key people | Brian Holden (CTO after 1996) |
| Products | B8ZS framer, OC-3 ATM framer chip, AAL1gator AAL-1 SAR chip, ATM switch chipsets |
Number of employees | 60 |
| Parent | PMC-Sierra (from 1998) |
Integrated Telecom Technology (IgT) was a semiconductor company without manufacturing facilities, headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, focusing on communications semiconductor solutions. Established in 1991 by Ken Lee, Greg Werth, Imran Chaudhri, Jerry Tall, and Chi Wai, IgT expanded to a workforce of 60 employees with offices located in Gaithersburg and San Jose, California. The company’s emblem symbolized a T1 signal waveform. In 1998, IgT was acquired by PMC-Sierra.
History
The firm was launched in 1991 by Ken Lee and his associates, adopting the abbreviation IgT due to naming conflicts with existing companies in the sector. IgT originally owned the domain igt.com, which was subsequently sold to International Game Technology.
Early products
The company’s first offering was a B8ZS framer targeting the T1 communication market. Additionally, IgT created a competitive OC-3 ATM framer chip, designed by Imran Chaudhri, who played a pivotal role in many of the company’s technological advancements.
Samsung relationship - 1994
In 1994, IgT collaborated with Samsung’s Telecom division to engineer an ATM switch chipset for the StarRacer platform. This chipset was developed under contract from Network Synthesis, Inc. (NSI), a small design firm. Samsung’s participation culminated in its investment and eventual majority ownership of IgT.
Network Synthesis acquisition - 1996
IgT acquired NSI in 1996 and appointed its CEO, Brian Holden, as Chief Technology Officer. NSI had been working on the AAL-1 SAR chip known as the AAL1gator under contract for IgT. This product achieved notable market success and was a major factor leading to PMC-Sierra’s acquisition of IgT. Furthermore, the AAL1gator influenced the acquisitions of OnStream Networks by 3Com and Sentient Networks by Cisco Systems, as both utilized this technology within their systems.
Joint development with Ericsson
The San Jose branch partnered with Ericsson Telecom of Sweden, under Chee Hu’s leadership, to co-develop an ATM switch chipset over several years. This collaboration produced Ericsson’s AXD-301 ATM switch, which saw widespread deployment within British Telecom's infrastructure. The project resulted in nine ATM-related patents credited to both IgT and PMC-Sierra.
Acquisition by PMC-Sierra - 1998
The AAL1Gator device interfaced with T1/E1 framers marketed by PMC-Sierra, significantly enhancing PMC’s framer product sales. This commercial success motivated PMC-Sierra to purchase IgT in May 1998 for USD $55 million. The acquisition was influenced by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which prompted Samsung to divest its holdings. Post-acquisition, the AAL1Gator maintained strong sales performance.
Subsequent to acquisition
In 2003, PMC-Sierra shut down IgT’s Gaithersburg office and terminated all remaining personnel there; however, some employees at the San Jose location remained employed. While certain IgT products continue to be offered through PMC, others were discontinued following LSI Logic’s withdrawal of fabrication process support.
Legacy
Although the Gaithersburg facility closure occurred amid the telecom industry downturn, IgT represented a valuable investment for PMC-Sierra. Its favorable return on investment resulted from a moderate purchase price combined with substantial revenue from the AAL1Gator product line and contributions from the San Jose team toward successful PMC projects such as the Arrow2xGE Ethernet over SONET device. Among fourteen Sierra/PMC-Sierra acquisitions measured by ROI, IgT ranks second only to Sierra’s acquisition of PMC.
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