Chapter 10 - Networking: Market Competition 1981-1983
10.16 Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
DEC management, led by Gordon Bell, had an abiding interest in Ethernet ever since making it a core element of their 1978 VAX strategy. They were the D of DIX, the partnership to take Ethernet from being Xerox proprietary property to a public standard. They had participated intensely in the finalization and publishing of the DIX proposed Ethernet standard on September 30, 1980. Only they too had to wait for Ethernet semiconductor chips that were not expected before the end of 1982. In June 1982, as part of their Decnet Phase IV announcement, DEC announced Ethernet controller boards for delivery in 1983, with parts of the system, the transceivers, available later in 1982. They would soon no longer let the early Ethernet LAN companies prey on their customers without competition.