A technology licensing agreement

Intel said on Thursday it plans to start selling Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modems later this year. The move is partof an effort to increase the bandwidth available to homes and small businesses, which in turn should drive demand for Intel_s higher performance processors, one analyst said. Intel also announced a technology licensing agreement with Cisco Systems, which will allow the chip maker to develop and market a line of Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) modems compatible with Cisco_s central office DSL equipment. DSL is a networking technology that allows for faster connection speeds over standard telephone lines than the analog modems used by most homes and small businesses -- as much as 25 times faster in some cases, according to Intel. Agreement among industry players on standards for DSL is expected to make the technology increasingly popular in the next few years.