Legerity Unveils VoiceChip Family of Voice over Broadband - VoB - Semiconductors.

Business Editors and High-Tech Writers

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 2002

Legerity's VoiceChip Voice Interface Solutions Offer Fastest,

Simplest, Least Expensive Way to Connect Telephones to Cable

and DSL Modems

Legerity, the world's leading provider of voice interface integrated circuits (ICs), today introduced a new family of voice ICs specifically designed to enable connection of telephone lines to DSL and cable modem equipment.

The VoiceChip(tm) family includes new and updated telephone subscriber line interface circuits (SLICs) and integrated chipsets -- all sharing common interfaces, compatibility with worldwide standards and unique features specific to VoB. VoiceChip family devices support the connection of one to eight telephone lines.

"By introducing the new VoiceChip family, Legerity is making a significant contribution to help facilitate the deployment of voice over broadband technology," said Teresa Mastrangelo, program director for the Broadband Access Networks: Global program at RHK, a leading analyst firm focusing on the global telecommunications industry. "The industry is looking for solutions that enable VoB customer premises equipment. IC vendors that introduce new technology that makes it easier and more cost-effective to develop and deploy VoB equipment will help drive the voice over broadband industry forward."

VoiceChip solutions make it practical to add voice to a wide range of broadband applications, including cable and DSL modems, integrated access devices (IADs), network interface units (NIUs), set-top and house-side boxes, voice over ISDN or T1/E1 systems, smart residential gateways, IP-PBX systems. VoiceChip solutions are also a good fit for emerging fiber to the home (FTTH), ATM passive optical network (APON), next-generation network (NGN) and other voice over IP (VoIP) applications, such as Yahoo! BB (Broadband) VoIP service in Japan.

Using VoiceChip IC products, customer premises equipment (CPE) manufacturers can rapidly add voice capabilities to their broadband system designs without requiring advanced analog design expertise or custom software development necessary with competitive alternatives.

"The expansion of the worldwide VoB market, now standing at more than 12 million subscribers and growing at more than 30 percent a year, calls for voice interface solutions that make it fast, easy and cost-effective to add voice capabilities to broadband access equipment," said Eric Broockman, vice president of marketing at Legerity. "Legerity puts more than 20 years of voice experience into every VoiceChip IC, and the family's interface-compatible framework future-proofs our customers' VoB system designs by offering them a lot of options for where they take their forthcoming products."

Unique VoiceChip product features include:

-- Software programmable to operate in more than 100

countries ("one design fits all")

-- Interoperable with popular DSPs and network processors

-- SLIC devices built with Legerity's proprietary, patented deep-trench high-voltage bipolar process designed to enable optimal voice performance at the lowest cost

-- Integrated test features (similar to those used by telephone service providers) enabling remote diagnostics of telephone sets and lines by broadband network service providers

VoiceChip family members support a variety of integrated features essential for VoB applications, including on-chip ringing, modem tone detection, caller ID support and automatic battery switching or optional on-chip switching regulators (to generate high-voltage ringing battery). This high level of integration minimizes discrete component count, increases board density and reduces power requirements, resulting in lower system cost and simpler designs.

Major VoiceChip product categories include:

-- Programmable voice codec ICs - one- to eight-channel

DSP-based codecs

-- Ringing SLIC ICs - single- and dual-channel subscriber

line interface circuits

-- Integrated VoB chipsets - highly programmable one- to

four-channel SLIC/codec chipsets

The VoiceChip family is backed by Legerity's worldwide direct sales organization and field applications support network. The family is also supported by Legerity's comprehensive suite of design tools, including the VoicePath(tm) software development kit and more than 25 unique line modules, reference designs and evaluation boards developed by Legerity and many of the world's leading data chipset suppliers. Using these Legerity development tools, VoB design engineers can shorten their development schedules and reduce time to market by several months.

Legerity will introduce new VoiceChip products and reference designs over the coming months, including several VoiceChip family-compatible versions of voice ICs from Agere Systems' Voice Interface Solutions business, which Legerity acquired in late Q3 of this year.

About Legerity Inc.

Legerity is a fabless analog/mixed-signal semiconductor company providing integrated circuits for high-voltage interface, signal conditioning, signal processing and power management applications to more than 400 of the world's premier communications and consumer electronics manufacturers. Using innovative, proprietary analog and embedded digital signal processing technologies, Legerity combines its 20 years of experience, bipolar and CMOS process expertise, analog and digital circuit design capabilities and more than 600 patents to meet the design challenges of connecting the world of analog signals with the digital domain. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Legerity has offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Visit Legerity on the Web at www.legerity.com.

Legerity, the Legerity logo, and combinations thereof, and VoiceChip and VoicePath are trademarks of Legerity Inc. All other brand and product names are used for identification only and may be trademarks of their respective companies.