Agere Systems Announces Proven SONET-Compliant SERDES Sub-Circuit for ASICs

Achievement Enables Power Consumption Decrease of Approximately 70 Percent

ALLENTOWN - June 17, 2002 -- Agere Systems (NYSE: AGR.A, AGR.B), the world leader in communications components, today announced a Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)-compliant Serializer/Deserializer (SerDes) sub-circuit that reduces power consumption of chip technology by approximately 70 percent and halves the number of silicon devices required per channel on a circuit board. These improvements enable an increase in overall system channel processing capacity by a factor of four or more compared with competing silicon offerings.

By integrating this SerDes into an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), equipment manufacturers can directly connect Agere's ASICs to Agere's Netlight® optoelectronic transceivers. For targeted line card applications, this system architecture adheres to the SONET 2.5 Gigabits per second (Gbits/s) Optical Carrier (OC)-48 standard. SONET OC-48 is a widely deployed communications transmission protocol for connecting voice, data, and video signal transmissions.

By integrating Agere's SerDes TSDR04 sub-circuit (macrocell) into Agere's ASIC chip, customers do not have to use a separate SerDes multiplexer/demultiplexer (mux/demux) chip or chips, as is the case with competing offerings. This integration lowers silicon costs and reduces the area used per port (per channel) in the same size system, thereby allowing an increase in SONET channel processing capacity on the same line card.

Agere's SerDes macrocell, a high-speed silicon interconnect sub-circuit, is integrated in a larger Agere ASIC system chip. A SerDes sub-circuit performs input and output functions that increase and decrease the transmission speed and reception of voice, data, and video signals through copper and fiber optic cables. SerDes sub-circuits are used widely in many types of data communications and telecommunications equipment including those equipped with SONET. Agere has integrated up to 64 channels of 2.5 Gbits/s SerDes on a single device.

By integrating the SONET-compliant TSDR04 SerDes macrocell onto the ASIC chip, Agere reduces the price per channel on a telecom line card by approximately $50 to $100. The TSDR04 chip technology also consumes 200 milliwatts per channel, approximately 70 percent less than competing SONET compliant silicon offerings. By integrating a single four-channel TSDR04 SerDes into an ASIC, customers eliminate four separate mux/demux devices from a four-port system, thus saving circuit board space and reducing cost.

"Agere's achievement enables equipment manufacturers to boost their system capacity while still using low-cost optoelectronics transceivers," said Beth Logan, strategic marketing manager with Agere Systems. "This is exactly what communications service providers want: to get more performance out of their existing infrastructures while minimizing overall system and electronics costs."

"There are very few companies that have the system-level know-how to understand the technical nuances of ICs and optoelectronics and make direct SONET compatibility work successfully," added Logan. "This achievement can broaden the deployment of high speed SONET connections, because it allows the use of low cost transceivers while meeting SONET specifications."

In addition to ASICs, Agere's family of SerDes macrocells have been used in the company's standard product designs and applications. For example, the macrocells have been integrated within network processors, switch fabrics, and traffic managers. SerDes macrocells within ASICs are used in various types of equipment such as routers, wireless base stations, and optical core and edge devices.

Agere is currently developing its fifth generation of SerDes macrocell. Three generations have been designed for speeds of 1 Gbits/s up to 3.3 Gbits/s. Agere's latest SerDes chips consume 82 milliwatts of power per channel at 3.125 Gbits/s. On a per channel basis, these latest chips are 40 percent of the size of the TSDR04 macrocell.

About NetLight

Agere's NetLight transceivers are high-speed, cost-effective solutions for high-density data transport in metropolitan and access networks. Agere's NetLight family consists of small-form-factor (SFF) pin-through-hole and small-form-factor pluggable (SFP) transceivers at speeds from OC-3 (155 Megabits per second) to OC-48 (2.5 Gbits/s) as well as Gigabit Ethernet. Agere's line of SFF transceivers offers the industry's most complete portfolio of SONET/SDH-based devices, giving customers a single vendor to supply products of all reaches and speeds to serve any market need.

Agere's SFP transceivers give systems makers the flexibility of designing communications boards without the need to solder transceivers onto the board during manufacturing, and service providers the option to "plug-in" transceivers based on the speed or distance required.

For more product information, customers may call the Agere Systems Customer Response Center, 1-800-372-2447, Dept. A41 (in Canada, 1-800-553-2448, Dept. A41; fax number 1-610-712-4106 (for callers outside of North America) or write to Agere Systems, Room 30L-15P-BA, 555 Union Boulevard, Allentown, Pa. 18109.

Agere Systems is the world's No.1 provider of components for communications applications with leadership in optical components and integrated circuits. This dual capability uniquely positions Agere to deliver integrated solutions that form the building blocks for advanced wired, wireless, and optical communications networks. Agere also designs and manufactures a wide range of semiconductor solutions for communications-related devices used by consumers such as cellular phones, modems, and hard disk drives for personal computers and workstations. In addition, the company supplies complete wireless computer networking solutions through the ORiNOCO product line. More information about Agere Systems is available from its Web site at www.agere.com.
 

This release contains forward-looking statements based on information available to Agere as of the date hereof. Agere's actual results could differ materially from the results stated or implied by such forward-looking statements due to a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, customer demand for our products and services, control of costs and expenses, timely completion of employment reductions and other restructuring and consolidation activities, price and product competition, keeping pace with technological change, dependence on new product development, reliance on major customers and suppliers, availability of manufacturing capacity, components and materials, general industry and market conditions and general domestic and international economic conditions including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations. For a further discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, see our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2001, and report on Form 10-Q for the period ending March 31, 2002. Agere disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.