Vitesse Reinforces Leadership Position in Chipsets for Fiber-to-the-Home Applications.

Participation in AOE 2006 Exposition Highlights Dedication to Enabling Optical Component and System Suppliers in Asia Markets

SHANGHAI, China -- Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation (Pink Sheets:VTSS) further secured its position in the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) market today by announcing the general availability and widespread customer acceptance of its PON PRO[TM] family of physical media dependent (PMD) devices for BPON, EPON and GPON applications. The Company is highlighting this achievement at the Asia Optical Fiber Communication and Optoelectronic Exposition & Conference (AOE 2006) in Shanghai, China, October 25-27, 2006 (Booth #2115).

To date, PON PRO products have won over twenty designs worldwide with module manufacturers designing Optical Line Termination (OLT) and Optical Network Unit (ONU) applications for the FTTH market. Many of these are within the Asia-Pacific market, which leads the adoption and deployment of FTTH. KMI Research estimates that this region will account for more than 50 percent of the world market through 2010, when spending on fiber optic systems for broadband access is estimated to reach $21 billion USD.

"Vitesse's commitment to both OLT and ONU integrated circuit designs demonstrates their commitment to enable module makers, like Fiberxon, to effectively bring optical module products to market," said Douglas Cheng, senior product marketing manager of Fiberxon. "Their latest products supporting the GPON OLT requirements are key to the overall deployment of PON systems in the next year."

The general availability of Vitesse's newest PON chipset is a key contributor spurring this widespread customer acceptance. The VSC7718 and VSC7728 chipset, the world's first GPON-compliant burst mode receiver solution, offers designers a complete PMD integrated circuit solution to enable BPON, EPON and GPON networks with measured performance that exceeds published specifications for those standards.

Revolutionizing PON Optical Modules

The advanced features of the PON PRO product family allow customers the benefit of an incredibly flexible solution of pin-compatible products to support all of the PON standards. By integrating a digital Average Power Control (APC) loop, point fault-safe features to meet laser eye safety requirements, and a digital control interface, the solution has helped revolutionize PON optical module management by helping to enable software-controlled optics.

Together with Vitesse's flagship TIA products that offer the widest input dynamic range in the industry for OLT and ONU Bi-directional Optical Sub-Assemblies (BOSAs), the chipset provides a compelling solution that enables a fast path to production and to the build-out of future FTTH networks.

"Vitesse is enabling FTTH by providing chipsets with features and performance that exceed published industry specifications," said Matthew Dru, product marketing manager, Network Products Division at Vitesse. "The production demand and design activity for our PON PRO chipset is a clear indication that customers value our complete FTTH offering."

About Vitesse

Vitesse designs, develops and markets a diverse portfolio of high-performance, cost-competitive semiconductor solutions for communications and storage networks worldwide. Engineering excellence and dedicated customer service distinguish Vitesse as an industry leader in Gigabit Ethernet LAN, Ethernet-over-SONET, Fibre Channel, Serial Attached SCSI, Optical Transport, and other applications. Vitesse innovation empowers customers to deliver superior products for Enterprise, Access, Metro, and Core applications. Additional company and product information is available at www.vitesse.com.

Vitesse is a registered trademark and PON PRO is a trademark in the United States and/or other jurisdictions of Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation. All other trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective holders.

Note to editors: Additional technical information is available at:

Vitesse's PON Technology Center: http://www.vitesse.com/PON

VSC7718 and VSC7728 Product Brief: http://www.vitesse.com/products/product.php?number=VSC7718

Safe Harbor

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