NEC Licenses MIPS32 4K(TM) Family Microprocessor Cores from MIPS Technologies

New MIPS Cores Accelerate NEC's Network Controller Product Lineup

SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 12 /PRNewswire/ -- NEC Electronics Inc., announced today that its parent company NEC Corporation (NEC) has signed a licensing agreement with MIPS Technologies Inc. for 32-bit processor core technology.

NEC and MIPS Technologies already have a technology licensing agreement for NEC's market-leading 64-bit VR Series microprocessors. The new agreement provides NEC with three 32-bit microprocessor cores: the MIPS32 4Kc(TM)/4Kp(TM)/4Km(TM).These synthesizable processor cores are compatible with MIPS32(TM) architecture and feature a high level of system integration, low cost and low power dissipation. The 4Kc provides an onboard multiply and accumulate (MAC) unit and a memory management unit for compact, high-performance design. The 4Km is designed for applications demanding high MAC performance, while the 4Kp is geared for minimum system cost requirements. All three cores provide highly flexible building blocks for system LSI design.

High-speed access to the Internet is now being provided by digital subscriber line (DSL) services, bringing increasing focus to how value can be added to terminal technology. In addition to high-speed Internet access, DSL is also seen as a viable candidate for distribution of voice and video. In the North American small office/home office (SOHO) market, simultaneous use of voice and Internet services through voice over DSL (VoDSL) has also started and is expected to be introduced in the consumer market soon.

``We are very excited that NEC has chosen MIPS Technologies processor IP to power its next generation network controller product line. MIPS Technologies has an aggressive roadmap of processor cores optimized for the networking market and a very strong software offering of tools and real time operating systems. MIPS-based technology has been incorporated into NEC products for many years and our long-standing relationship continues into the high performance, highly integrated system-on-a-chip(SOC) network controller market,'' said Brian Knowles, vice president of marketing at MIPS Technologies, Inc.

``With NEC's advanced design methodology, we can rapidly integrate powerful processor cores and the latest communication IP cores into the network controller product line. This allows us to deliver an optimized device with incredible price-performance for the rapid growing networking market. This licensing agreement will allow NEC to expand our network controller product offerings into high bandwidth multimedia communication markets, such as Video over DSL, multi-rate and multi-channel telecomm for the central office, and Internet appliances,'' explained Chung Ho, assistant general manager of NEC Electronics' Communications Division.

About NEC Electronics Inc.

NEC Electronics Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is one of the leading developers, manufacturers and suppliers of semiconductor products in the United States. Committed to meeting customers' cost, performance and time-to-market requirements, the company offers solutions ranging from standard products to system-on-a-chip (SOC) solutions, as well as customized products for next-generation designs. NEC Electronics also offers customers the benefits of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Roseville, CA, and the global manufacturing capabilities of its parent company, NEC Corporation. For more information about products offered by NEC Electronics Inc., please visit the NEC Electronics Web site at http://www.necel.com