Marvell Sets New Industry Milestone For Fast Ethernet Transceivers, Reducing Power By More than 40%.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 2002

New Smallest Form Factor Octal 10/100 PHY Integrates

Revolutionary, Built-In Virtual Cable Tester(TM) Technology

Marvell(R) (Nasdaq:MRVL), a technology leader in the development of extreme broadband communications solutions, today introduced its third generation 8-port Fast Ethernet transceivers based on the Company's field-proven, advanced DSP technology. Based on 0.15-micron CMOS technology, these new Marvell 88E3082/88E3083 devices lead the industry with advanced features including lowest power consumption, smallest footprint and built-in Virtual Cable Tester(TM) technology.

The Marvell Fast Ethernet transceivers offer the industry's lowest power consumption at less than 150mW per port -- 40% lower than competing solutions. This low power consumption enables network system manufacturers to decrease system cost by reducing both power supply and fan requirements. The 88E3082 device is also the industry's smallest footprint Fast Ethernet transceiver with dimensions of 15mm x 17mm, and requires less than half the board space of typical Octal transceivers in 208-pin Plastic Quad Flat Pack (PQFP) packages. This further reduces system cost and allows for the development of higher density Fast Ethernet switches -- beyond 48 ports. The 88E3083 device is available in a small form factor 128-pin LQFP package, allowing for the development of Fast Ethernet systems based on two-layer Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), yet another way to reduce the overall Bill of Materials (BOM).

The 88E3082 and 88E3083 Fast Ethernet transceivers integrate Marvell's revolutionary Virtual Cable Tester diagnostic capability from its Alaska(R) family of Gigabit Ethernet transceivers, allowing end-users, IT managers and networking equipment manufacturers to quickly and remotely analyze the quality and attributes of the cable, thereby avoiding unnecessary equipment returns and on-site service calls. Advanced built-in diagnostics help pinpoint the cause of network malfunctions without deploying field support personnel or bringing down the network, significantly reducing installation time and cable debug efforts/requirements.

"With advanced features including lowest power, smallest form factor and Virtual Cable Tester technology, the Marvell 88E3082 and 88E3083 devices are as revolutionary for the Fast Ethernet market as our Alaska solutions have been, and continue to be, for the Gigabit Ethernet market," stated Gary Smerdon, Marvell's Vice President of Marketing for the Communications Business Group. "Our broad portfolio of advanced Fast Ethernet, Gigabit and 10 Gigabit transceivers and switches has made Marvell the 'one-stop shop' for complete Ethernet solutions from the home to the enterprise to metropolitan area networks."

Marvell 88E3082/88E3083 Fast Ethernet Transceivers

The 88E3082 and 88E3083 devices are third generation Marvell DSP-based eight-port physical layer devices based on advanced 0.15-micron CMOS technology. These devices contain all of the active circuitry as well as digital signal processing technology required to convert data streams to and from eight Media Access Controllers (MACs) and the physical media.

To reduce the number of input/output (I/O) pins between the MAC and the physical layer (PHY), the 88E3082 device supports the Reduced Media Independent Interface (RMII), the Serial Media Independent Interface (SMII) as well as the Source Synchronous option of SMII (SSSMII). The SSSMII interface extends the allowed PCB trace distance between the PHY and the MAC, facilitating more robust, higher port density, Fast Ethernet switch designs. The 88E3083 device supports the SMII and SSSMII interfaces. The 88E3082 and 88E3083 Fast Ethernet transceivers also support three direct connect LEDs per port (24 LEDs total). In addition, the 88E3082 device supports a serial LED mode of operation for added flexibility.

The 88E3082 device features a mode of operation supporting IEEE compliant 100BASE-FX fiber-optic networks. The device includes a PECL interface that is selectable on a per port basis for 100BASE-FX applications. The 88E3083 supports fiber on the eighth port.

The 88E3082/88E3083 devices support Marvell's Virtual Cable Tester technology, which detects and reports potential cabling issues such as pair swaps, pair polarity and excessive pair skew. The transceivers also detect cable opens, shorts or any impedance mismatch in the cable and accurately report -- within one meter -- the distance of the fault. Essentially, the 88E3082/88E3083 devices integrate, on every port, the functionality of a several thousand-dollar cable meter system typically required by IT professionals to install and handle corporate network service and support issues.

Availability

The Marvell 88E3082 transceiver, supplied in a 224-pin BGA package, is priced at $7.50 in high volume quantities. The 88E3083 device, available in a 128-pin LQFP package, is priced at $6.95 in high volume quantities.

About Marvell

Marvell, a technology leader in the development of extreme broadband system-level IC solutions for Internet connectivity and infrastructure, comprises Marvell Technology Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries, including Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. (MSI), Marvell Asia Pte Ltd. (MAPL), Marvell Japan K.K., Marvell Taiwan Ltd., Marvell International Ltd. (MIL), and Galileo Technology Ltd. (GTL). On behalf of MIL, MSI designs, develops and markets integrated circuits utilizing proprietary Communications Mixed-Signal Processing (CMSP) and digital signal processing technologies for communications signal processing markets. MAPL is headquartered in Singapore and is responsible for production, distribution and design operations. GTL develops high-performance communications Internetworking and Switching products for the broadband communications market. As used in this release, the terms "Company" and "Marvell" refer to the entire group of companies. The Company applies its technology to the extreme broadband communications market where its products are used in network access equipment to provide the interface between communications systems and data transmission media. MSI is headquartered at 700 First Ave., Sunnyvale, Calif., 94089; phone: [phone], fax: [phone]. Marvell's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol MRVL. More information on Marvell is available on the Internet at www.marvell.com.

Safe Harbor Statement of Marvell under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our products, our industry, our markets, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," and variations of these words or similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, market results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements in this release.

Important risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause such a difference for Marvell in connection with the introduction of its 88E3082/88E3083 Fast Ethernet transceivers for the data communications market and for Marvell's customers in connection with their commercial exploitation of this product's potential advantages as highlighted herein include, but are not limited to, the timing, cost and successful completion of technology and product development through volume production; the timing, rescheduling and/or cancellation of significant customer orders; general economic conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address, including periodic downturns in the integrated circuit industry; the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt our products; and the timing and results of customer-industry qualification and certification of our products.

For other factors that could cause Marvell's results to vary from expectations, please see the section titled "Additional Factors That May Affect Future Results" in Marvell's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended February 2, 2002 and Marvell's subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

Marvell(R), the Marvell logo, Alaska(R), and Virtual Cable Tester(TM) are trademarks of Marvell. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.