STMicroelectronics announces dual-core System-on-Chip that simplifies design of Voice-over-IP telephone terminals and gateways

Cutting chip count, STMicroelectronics' STLC1502 'Stradivarius' chip combines microcontroller, DSP, two Ethernet ports and memories

Geneva, June 14, 2001 - STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) has announced a new digital system-on-chip device for Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony that enables cost savings by simplifying the design of enterprise IP phones, small gateways, integrated access devices and other emergent products using VoIP technology. Called STLC1502 or 'Stradivarius', the new chip integrates a low power D950 Digital Signal Processor (DSP) core, an industry standard ARM7TDMI 32-bit RISC microcontroller core, two 10/100 Base-T Ethernet ports and on-chip memories.

Voice-over-IP technology uses the same digital network used for the Internet to send and receive voice signals for telephony. Compared to the traditional approach using analog telephone lines, the Voice-over-IP approach allows the integration of voice and data services as well as a more efficient utilization of line capacity.

VoIP phones connected to a corporate LAN will not only enable new features to be added to the telephone network, but also allow integration of data and multimedia services. The deployment of VoIP will thus simplify the upgrading of telephony networks resulting in cost savings.

VoIP telephony, when combined with broadband access in small gateways or integrated access devices in homes and small businesses allows simultaneous multiple voice telephone calls plus concurrent Internet access from a single analog phone line, thus utilizing the same bandwidth for voice and data connections. At the central office side the data merges seamlessly with the telco's IP backbone, making the most efficient use of infrastructure investments.

The STLC1502 integrates the various functions required to put voice over the Ethernet, resulting in a simple, more compact and low-cost solution for VoIP appliances. To design an IP phone, the only other parts required will be an analog interface such as ST's STw5093, some optional Flash memory for upgradeable software and Fast Ethernet physical layer devices such as the STE100P.

Small gateways can also be easily implemented with the Stradivarius chip by adding a multichannel telephony CODEC such as the ST5048 and subscriber line interfaces (SLICs) such as the ST30R80. A leading supplier of telephone line card components, ST offers a broad selection of CODEC and SLIC chips.

The Stradivarius chip includes the D950 DSP, which implements the vocoder functions using ST-developed software as well as the ARM7 microcontroller core, which performs network functions. User interface software can be easily customizable. The STLC1502 is fully compliant with the ITU H.323 standard for multimedia communications over IP networks.

A leading manufacturer of system-on-chip and other semiconductor devices for telecom applications, STMicroelectronics is a one-stop supplier for today's integrated communication products, offering a broad range of solutions for xDSL, VoIP, optical networks and Fast Ethernet. For more information about these products, please visit: www.st.com/connectivity.

About STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics is the world's third largest independent semiconductor company. The Company shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, on Euronext Paris and on the Milan Stock Exchange. The Company designs, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs) and discrete devices used in a wide variety of microelectronic applications, including telecommunications systems, computer systems, consumer products, automotive products and industrial automation and control systems. In 2000, the Company's net revenues were $7,813.2 million and net earnings were $1,452.1 million. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com.