GlobeSpan began as a research group inside AT&T Paradyne and became its own company when Lucent sold Paradyne in 1996. The Red Bank, New Jersey company designed chip sets for DSL, the technology that pushed fast internet over the copper phone lines already in people's homes. By its 1999 IPO it had shipped more than one million DSL chip sets to makers such as Cisco, NEC and Westell. Phone companies were racing cable to sell broadband, and GlobeSpan's chips powered the phone side.

Spun Out of Paradyne

GlobeSpan was formed as an independent company in July 1996 as part of Lucent's divestiture of AT&T Paradyne, and it began operations that August. Before that, its business ran as Paradyne's Advanced Transmission Technologies group. Texas Pacific Group was a key backer, and its partner James Coulter sat on the board. The company sold chip sets to the equipment makers who built DSL modems and phone-company gear. Its pitch was long experience with DSL and an active seat in setting its standards.

Merger After Merger

GlobeSpan priced at $15 a share in June 1999 and listed on Nasdaq. Broadband demand pushed its stock up during the boom, then the telecom crash cut it down. In December 2001, GlobeSpan merged with the British chip company Virata and took the name GlobespanVirata. In early 2004, Conexant Systems bought GlobespanVirata in a stock deal, and the company deregistered its shares in March 2004.

Cover: Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect, Claude Monet. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a bridge spanning a river (GlobeSpan).