2Wire i38HG Wireless Access Point Teardown

Overview / Main Features

The 2Wire i38HG is residential wireless access point that is part in parcel of the larger 2Wire HomePortal iNID (intelligent Network Interface Device) system which includes the 2Wire i3812V (outdoor VDSL gateway) and iPSU power module (battery UPS). The i38HG takes HPNAv3.1 input and translate the signal into traditional IP format via a 4-port ethernet or 802.11b/g wireless network.

Like the primary i3812V gateway, the design of the i38HG similarly features a custom ASIC from NXP Semiconductors (TriMedia Technologies Inc.) and a HomePNAv3.1 digital MAC/PHY chip from CopperGate.

2Wire i38HG Wireless Access Point Main Image

Telco Carriers - specifically for VDSL / FTTN residential deployments

Released

Based on product literature; likely first released in 2008

2Wire i38HG Wireless Access Point - Main PCB Top

Pricing - As with most telco or cable services, the cost of the equipment is rolled up in the overall service contract costs and therefore there is no clear market price for the unit.

Availability - North America (AT&T U-Verse)

Volume Estimations

For the purposes of this teardown analysis, we have applied a lifetime production volume of approximately 500K units.

As a reminder, teardown volume production assumptions are primarily used for our cost analysis in terms of amortized NRE and tooling costs, especially for custom components specific to the model being analyzed (mechanical components especially). Unless assumed volumes are different by an order of magnitude, minor changes in volume (say 1 million vs. 2) rarely have a large net effect on our final analysis because of this.

2Wire i38HG Wireless Access Point - Main PCB Bottom FA

Main Cost Drivers ~70% of Total Materials Cost

CopperGate - CG3111QIR-10 - HomePNA 3.1 Digital MAC and PHY IC

NXP Semiconductors (TriMedia Technologies Inc.) - ASIC

Analog Devices (CopperGate) - CG3112LIR-10 - Analog Front End - HomePNA 3.1

Elington Electronics Technology - 4-Layer - FR4, Lead-Free

Atheros - AR2413A - WLAN - Single Chip, MAC/Baseband Processor/Radio, IEEE802.11b/g

ACWS011C-05U - AC Adapter - 5.1V, 2.2A, 11.5W, w/ 6ft Cord & Label

Marvell Technology - 88E6061-LAJ1 - Ethernet Switch - 6-Port, 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX, w/ QoS, 802.1Q

Samsung Semiconductor - K4H511638F-LCCC - SDRAM - DDR-400, 512Mb, 32Mx16, 2.5V

Delta Electronics - LFE8807-R - Ethernet Magnetics Module - Quad Port, 10/100 Base-TX

Hynix - HY27US08561A-TPCB - Flash - NAND, SLC, 256Mb, 3.3V

Green / Red (Qty:9)

Intersil - ISL6442IAZ - DC-DC Controller - Dual, Step-Down, Synchronous, Voltage Mode, 24V, 2.85MHz

Direct Materials + Manufacturing $58.30

2Wire i38HG Wireless Access Point Cost Analysis

What Is Not Included in our Cost Analysis

The total materials and manufacturing costs reported in this analysis reflect ONLY the direct materials cost (from component vendors and assorted EMS providers), AND manufacturing with basic test. Not included in this analysis are costs above and beyond the material manufacture of the core device itself - cost of intellectual property, royalties and licensing fees (those not already included into the per component price), software, software loading and test, shipping, logistics marketing and other channel costs including not only EMS provider and the OEM's margin, but that of other resellers. Our cost analysis is meant to focus on those costs incurred in the manufacture of the core device and exceptionally in some circumstances the packaging and literature as well.

2Wire i38HG Wireless Access Point - Disassembly View 1
2Wire i38HG Wireless Access Point - Disassembly View 1

Country of Origin / Volume Assumptions

Based on markings, the unit was likely assembled in China. Furthermore, we have assumed that custom mechanicals (plastics, metals, etc.) were also sourced in China.

Country of origin assumptions relate directly to the associated cost of manufacturing, where calculated by iSuppli. In the cases of 'finished' sub-assemblies (such as RJ-45 connectors), we do not calculate internal manufacturing costs, but rather assess the market price of the finished product in which case country of origin assumptions may or may not have a direct effect on pricing.

Remember also that labor rates are applied directly only to hand inserted components and systems in our bill of materials, and although regional assumptions do, these new rates do not have a direct effect on our modeled calculations of placement costs for automated SMD assembly lines. "Auto inserted components (such as SMT components) placement costs are calculated by an iSuppli algorithm which allocates a cost per component based on the size and pincount of the device. This calculation is affected by country or region of origin as well.

2Wire i38HG Wireless Access Point - Disassembly View 3
2Wire i38HG Wireless Access Point - Disassembly View 3

The 2Wire i38HG has an overall component count of 824 (excluding box contents), of which 801 reside on the main PCB.

Component counts have a direct bearing on the overall manufacturing cycle times and costs, and also can increase or decrease overall yields and re-work. Our calculations of manufacturing costs factor counts and more qualitative complexities in the design. The cost of manufacturing is also, to some extent, decreased in this case because of assumed labor rate applied for China.

Note that manual labor has a much smaller effect on auto-insertion assembly lines (for the Main PCB, for example), where manufacturing costs are much more capital equipment intensive and driven by these investment costs.

Design Notes

Here is a summary of the major components used in the 2Wire i38HG design:

Main PCB

I/O & Interface

• HomePNA 3.1 Digital MAC and PHY IC - CopperGate - CG3111QIR-10
• Analog Front End - HomePNA 3.1 - Analog Devices (CopperGate) - CG3112LIR-10
• Analog Front End - VDSL2 / ADSL2+ - PMC Sierra - PM4380D-WGC
• Telephone Line Interface IC - Dual Channel - Zarlink Semiconductor - Le88276DLC
• Ethernet Switch - 7-Port, 10/100BASE-TX, 802.IQ - Marvell Technology - 88E6063-RCJ1

Processing

• ASIC - NXP Semiconductors (TriMedia Technologies Inc.)

Memory

• SDRAM - Micron Technology - MT47H32M16HW-3 IT:F, DDR2-800, 512Mb, 8Mx64, 1.8V
• Flash - Micron Technology - NAND512W3A2CN6, NAND, SLC, 512Mb, 3V

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2Wire i38HG Wireless Access Point - Box Contents