Giving industrial equipment designers flexibility in implementing real-time Ethernet communications, Altera announced intellectual property (IP) support for the EtherCAT protocol from the EtherCAT Technology Group. Previously qualified on Cyclone II devices, the IP now targets Altera's low-power Cyclone III FPGAs. EtherCAT is the performance leader among real-time industrial Ethernet protocols. The protocol can update data from over 1,000 distributed I/O nodes in 30 microseconds over low-cost twisted pair. Industrial Ethernet solutions using Altera Cyclone series FPGAs are immediately available and are priced as low as $12.50 in 1,000 unit quantities.

The EtherCAT Technology Group is an international user and vendor organization in which user companies from various industries and automation suppliers join forces to support, promote and advance the EtherCAT technology. The organization was founded in 2003.