Advanced Telecommunications Modules, Ltd., Cirrus Logic Remove ATM Desktop Cost Barriers; ATM Deployment to the Desktop will expand with Licensing and Development Agreement.

1995--Advanced Telecommunications Modules, Ltd. (ATML) and Cirrus Logic Inc. (Nasdaq: CRUS) today announced an agreement that will reduce the cost per switch port for desktop ATM networks by 50%. The two companies plan to jointly develop a highly versatile, single chip ATM solution that will enable OEMs to offer a wide array of extremely low cost ATM products.

Under terms of the agreement, ATML and Cirrus Logic will co-develop a family of highly integrated ICs, known as AToM, that will offer the world's first single-chip programmable ATM interface. Cirrus Logic will contribute design and process expertise to achieve higher levels of integration that will result in cost savings in product development and manufacturing. Cirrus will sell the AToM chips in the merchant market and become a registered applications developer for ATML's ATMoS operating system.

"At the beginning of 1995, the price per switch port for ATM desktops was about $1,200. Today ATML is delivering solid, standard based ATM workgroup offerings for around $400 per switch port. At this price point, network managers are now buying ATM networks where they would only previously have considered ethernet or token ring," said Pat O'Hearn, ATML's president. "With this agreement, we will be able to cut our costs in half, opening many more opportunities for ATML."

"This agreement adds a very important element to our product portfolio, allowing us to give our customers the ability to offer cost-effective ATM transport," said George Alexy, senior vice president of marketing at Cirrus Logic. "The widespread deployment of the ATML architecture and ATMoS operating system brings all of the multimedia networking capabilities of ATM down to the small, networked PC work team. This development accelerates the implementation of such important new applications as video mail, video conferencing, interactive training and massive quantities of audio or video data on demand."

Designed for use with 25 Mb or 155 Mb ATM standards, each AToM chip can perform any combination of control, adaption, or switching needed to implement a standard compliant ATM connection -- on a single chip. It combines an embedded ARM processor core, the operating system, ATM switch fabric, segmentation and reassembly (SAR) and other functions.

A versatile, general purpose device, AToM chips will form the heart of the next generation of ATML's workgroup switches, network interface cards and media servers. It will also be used by OEMs, along with the ATMoS operating system, to enable a wide range of complementary ATM peripheral products, such as cameras, set top boxes, monitors and storage devices, as well as switches and NICs.

"Cost is one of the main hurdles preventing the practical adoption of ATM networks for the desktop," noted Ron Jeffries, a principal of Jeffries Research, a consulting firm in Santa Maria, California. "The new AToM family will not only sharply reduce switch and NIC costs, but will also enable low cost ATM interfaces for products such as PCMCIA cards for laptop computers and high-capacity multimedia servers for workgroups."

The ATML family of products is distinguished by its common soft, scaleable architecture and operating system. The ATML architecture allows for upgrades through software alone. To help deploy an ubiquitous ATM infrastructure, the ATMoS real time operating system enables each system component to operate in concert or individually to optimize the handling of mixed-media streams, such as graphics, data, video and audio, all within the ATM standards environment.

Dedicated to delivering the benefits of low-cost ATM standard compliant solutions to the PC workgroup, ATML launched its first family of products earlier this year. The company's Virata family includes a PC workgroup switch, an ATM network interface and a multimedia server that already have been deployed in applications as diverse as video-on-demand in interactive cable television and desktop video conferencing.

"With the new low-cost AToM chip, we'll be able to integrate a variety of products from different vendors that, by working together, will allow us to leverage the use of voice, data, video and images in a single, affordable thread to the desktop," said Jeff Marshall, senior managing director of Communications Technology at Bear Stearns & Co., Inc., a leading global investment banking, brokerage, trading and clearing firm. "From a user's perspective, the universal ATML architecture eliminates the system bottlenecks that have prohibited us from taking advantage of a full end-to-end deployment of ATM from the backbone to the trading floor desktop."

About ATML

Founded in 1993, Advanced Telecommunications Modules is a pioneer in the development of low-cost Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology. The company's technology has a rich pedigree: begun in the Cambridge Ring and further developed by Olivetti research labs, it was exclusively licensed to ATML to mold into commercial products. ATML manufactures and markets affordable ATM products designed for the PC workgroup. The company has offices in Cambridge, England and in Sunnyvale, California. In North America, the company operates as ATM, Inc.

About Cirrus Logic

Headquartered in Fremont, Calif., Cirrus Logic, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of advanced integrated circuits for desktop and portable computing, telecommunications and consumer electronics markets. The company applies its system-level expertise in analog and digital design to innovate highly integrated, software-rich solutions. Cirrus Logic has developed a broad portfolio of products and technologies for applications spanning multimedia, communications, system logic, mass storage, and data acquisition. For more information, visit with ATML at http://www.atminc.com or Cirrus Logic at http://www.cirrus.com

CONTACT: ATM, Inc.

Fred Sammartino, 408/523-1400

or

Cirrus Logic

Connie Duncan, 510/226-2239

or

MQPR 

Matthew Quint, 510/651-9744