MAKING IT IN O.C. : Speedy Chips Twice as Fast As Others

Even in cyberspace, the old adage “time is money” still applies. That is what led Rockwell’s Telecommunications Division in Newport Beach to develop and manufacture the V-Fast family of modem chips.

The tiny chips transmit data over telephone lines at 28,800 kilobits a second, making it possible to transmit a 20-page, single-spaced document in a little over two minutes. That’s twice as fast as other widely available high-speed chips.

“There’s less waiting, and a faster transfer rate means more data can be sent without running up telephone charges,” said Dan Greenfield, modem product manager for Microcom, which utilizes Rockwell V-Fast chips in its modems. With data compression, the transmission rate can be quadrupled.

Since the chip’s introduction last year, more than 126 modem manufacturers are installing it in their products. Rockwell’s Newport Beach fabrication plant, which recently underwent a $150-million expansion, operates around the clock producing some 400,000 chips a day.