STMicroelectronics to Participate in Stanford University Research Center for Networking Technologies.

Business Editors

GENEVA, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22,2000

STMicroelectronics today announced that it is to participate in the Stanford Networking Research Center (SNRC), which is a new initiative from The School of Engineering at Stanford University. The aim of the SNRC, in cooperation with leading corporations in information technology, communications systems and semiconductors, is to address the key research, education and technology development challenges created by the rapid growth of the Internet.

ST is a founding member of the SNRC along with 3Com, Bosch, Cisco, Mandala Networks and Sony. Senior members of the center include Agilent, Hitachi, Motorola, Philips and Sun Microsystems; NTT DoCoMo, France Telecom and PMC-Sierra will be joining SNRC soon.

Last week, Stanford faculty, staff and students attended a special inauguration ceremony hosted by the SNRC. The ceremony included an inaugural talk from Ed Kozel, co-founder and former CTO of Cisco Systems, and a series of presentations discussing the transformation of internetworking technology over the last few years from the purely technical domain into the economic and social domain, which dominates technical development today.

ST is already conducting active development programs in networking ICs and technologies; it will soon establish a working force within the SNRC and organize a new internal R&D team. Aldo Romano, Corporate Vice-President and General Manager of the Telecom and Peripherals/Automotive Groups at STMicroelectronics, commented: "Networking is one of the key strategic growth areas for ST. By contributing to Stanford University's efforts, we are investing in the essential innovation in the networking domain that will extend the benefits gained from our recent investment in Nortel Networks Semiconductor group."

Andrea Cuomo, ST's Corporate Vice-President for Advanced Systems Technologies, who championed ST's participation to the SNRC, added: "SNRC's programs will encompass the full spectrum of the networking domain. The cooperative efforts with such world class founding partners will help us enhance our internal innovation and prepare ourselves for the coming highly networked, mobile world based upon a shared vision developed at Stanford."

The new Center will facilitate collaborative research efforts between the highly respected Stanford faculty, its students and the corporate leaders and founding members; the Center will position Stanford as the pace setter for future networking technologies.

The SNRC intends to pursue a broad spectrum of networking research issues, including Wireless Access, Internet Technologies, and Information Services. These very broad and inclusive areas reflect key developments in today's networking technologies.

About Stanford University

Stanford University was established on October 1, 1891. Organized into seven schools - Humanities & Sciences, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Business, Education, Law and Medicine - and more than 30 interdisciplinary centers, programs and research laboratories, Stanford counts more than 14,200 students. Stanford University has played a vital role in the emergence of computing and microelectronics technologies in the Silicon Valley and beyond.

About STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics (formerly SGS-THOMSON Microelectronics) is a global independent semiconductor company, whose shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, on the ParisBourse 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 1999, the Company's net revenues were $5.056 billion and net earnings were $547 million. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com.