CONEXANT INTRODUCES MULTIPLE ACCESS CDMA CHIPSETS.

Conexant Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:CNXT), Newport Beach, Calif. has introduced a family of radio frequency (RF) and mixed- signal integrated devices that provide CDMA phone manufacturers with an easy migration path from current cdmaOne (IS-95A and IS-95B) standards to the emerging cdma2000 wireless standard.

Supporting high data rates of up to 2 Mbps, the new cdma2000 standard enables phone manufacturers to develop Internet-ready products. This standard will allow the creation of wireless phones supporting voice, high-speed data and video, as well as digital e-commerce and real-time audio and video streaming.

Conexant's latest CDMA products offer industry-leading integration, fast time-to-market and low power consumption, and support the high data rates and greater voice capacity needed for future third-generation (3G) deployment. Ideal for small form-factor phones, a variety of configurations are available to support PCS only, dual-mode CDMA cellular/advanced mobile phone services (AMPS) and tri-mode CDMA cellular/AMPS/PCS handsets.

"By providing compatibility with cdmaOne standards and new cdma2000 standards along with multi-mode capability, Conexant's latest CDMA solutions offer a quick, low-risk migration path to 3G technology as our customers begin planning for cdma2000 deployment," said Mohy Abdelgany, vice president, RF components and subsystems of Conexant's Wireless Communications Division.

"With just four chips, we provide customers with a complete RF solution for cdma2000 phones, while ensuring backward compatibility with today's CDMA networks and handsets."

According to market analyst Will Strauss of Forward Concepts, the CDMA market is the fastest growing cellular market, and is expected to surpass 60 million units in 2000. "The migration path from cdmaOne to third-generation cdma2000 is very clear and Conexant has the RF and mixed-signal technology to also grow rapidly with this market," said Strauss.

Conexant's CDMA devices are used by the world's leading wireless phone manufacturers and included in approximately 70 percent of all CDMA handsets shipped. The company's newest CDMA devices consist of a transmit/receive subsystem, a baseband analog processor (BAP) and a power management integrated circuit (PMIC). The chipsets can be purchased separately or as a total solution.

Conexant's CDMA transmit/receive subsystems expand the company's offerings for the RF subsystems market. They feature a patented chip-scale, 40-pin land grid array (LGA) package -- a process that Conexant was the first to commercialize for RF applications. The products' compact design provides one of the industry's smallest packages (6x6 mm for single band, and 7x7 mm for dual band) with this level of functionality, and enables phone manufacturers to easily reduce overall handset size.

Available in a variety of compact packages for different phone designs, the BAP provides the world's lowest current consumption CODEC with half the power and size of Conexant's previous generation offering of baseband analog processors.

Conexant's latest CDMA PMIC maximizes talk and standby capabilities by optimizing the battery's resources and includes a smart-charging and sensing feature for charging the phone battery. Consolidating previously discrete power-related functions into a single device, its compact design is ideal for miniaturized handsets. The device is packaged as a 48-pin LGA or 48-pin thin quad flat pack (TQFP).

Available now, the CDMA RF subsystem including the transmit/receive devices, PMIC and BAP is priced at less than $15 in production quantities. To complement the CDMA RF subsystem, Conexant is also offering a SiGe dual-band, tri-mode, low-noise amplifier (LNA)/mixer, which will be sampling in May and available for $3.50 in June in production quantities.

About Conexant Systems

With revenues of approximately $1.5 billion, Conexant is the world's largest independent company focused exclusively on providing semiconductor solutions for communications electronics. With more than 30 years of experience in developing communications technology, the company draws upon its expertise in mixed-signal processing to deliver integrated systems and semiconductor products for a broad range of communications applications.

These products facilitate communications worldwide through wireline voice and data communications networks, cordless and cellular wireless telephony systems, personal imaging devices and equipment, and emerging cable and wireless broadband communications networks.

The company aligns its business into five product platforms: Network Access, Wireless Communications, Digital Infotainment, Personal Imaging, and Personal Computing. Conexant is a member of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 Indices. For more information, visit Conexant at www.conexant.com or call 949/483-7413.