Centillium obtains a license from MIPS Technologies, Inc. for the MIPS32 4Kp 32-Bit Processor Core

IP News

CENTILLIUM OBTAINS A LICENSE FROM MIPS TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
FOR THE MIPS32[tm] 4Kp[tm] 32-BIT PROCESSOR CORE

Communications IC Company to Use MIPS-based[tm] Processor IP (Intellectual Property) In Next Generation Communications Systems

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif, (January 13, 2000) MIPS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MIPS) today announced that Centillium Communications, Inc., a developer of communications ICs for high-bandwidth DSL applications, has acquired a license to use MIPS Technologies' MIPS32[tm] 4Kp[tm] processor core. The new license will give Centillium the rights to use 32-bit processor technology in their expanding family of communications ICs.

"We chose the 4Kp processor because it provides processing power in a very compact and low-power design, " states Shahin Hedayat, vice president of engineering and chief technology officer at Centillium. "The integration of the MIPS32 4Kp core with our industry leading proprietary communications DSP will expand our ability to design powerful, yet cost-effective SOC solutions. This will also add to our ability to implement powerful communications ICs that can be easily programmed to meet evolving communications protocols and standards as they emerge. This fits our long-term strategy to provide total communications solutions to the industry by incorporating all necessary software and systems capabilities into one integrated silicon solution."

"Fabless semiconductor makers, such as Centillium, benefit from being able to painlessly integrate a programmable cpu core into their application specific solutions," points out Brian Knowles, vice president of marketing at MIPS Technologies. "With programmability comes increased product flexibility and with the `drop-in' MIPS32 4Kp core, comes low power operation and easy SOC integration. Plus, the MIPS32 4Kp comes with the proven infrastructure of the world's most powerful embedded processor architecture. This infrastructure has the industry's widest support from third-party development tool makers and a broad world-wide base of MIPS-trained programmers and developers."

"This agreement helps broaden MIPS Technologies' position in the wired-communications market," notes Tom R. Halfhill, a senior editor with Microprocessor Report. "It also gives Centillium new ways to leverage its design expertise. The MIPS 4Kp license will allow Centillium to expand their ability to design chipsets and incorporate a programmable RISC core."

The MIPS32 4Kp core is a member of MIPS Technologies' MIPS32[tm] and MIPS64[tm] technology roadmap that provides a range of 32- and 64-bit processor solutions for a diverse number of digital consumer and embedded systems applications.

The 4Kp core includes a set of 32 general purpose 32-bit registers, four execution units, power management features, a programmable cache memory controller with block address translation unit or BAT, and a fully static, single clock-based design.

About Centillium Communications, Inc.
Centillium Communications, Inc. is a communication solutions company dedicated to delivering high-speed Internet access to meet the increasing bandwidth requirements of businesses and consumers. The company designs and markets Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) chipset solutions for central office equipment, DLC line cards, and customer premises equipment. Centillium's chipset family is the industry's highest port density, lowest power dissipation solution available to networking equipment manufacturers today. Centillium Communications, Inc. is located at 47211 Lakeview Blvd., Fremont, CA 94538. Additional information is available at http://www.centillium.com.

About MIPS Technologies, Inc.
MIPS Technologies, Inc. is one of the world's primary architects of embedded 32- and 64-bit RISC processors. The company drives the broadest architectural alliance that is delivering 32- and 64-bit embedded RISC solutions. The company licenses its intellectual property to semiconductor companies, ASIC developers, and system OEMs. MIPS Technologies, Inc. and its licensees offer the widest range of robust, scalable processors in standard, custom, semi-custom and application-specific products.

Licensees currently include: Alchemy (Cadence); ATI Technologies Inc.; Broadcom Corporation; Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing; CommQuest (IBM); ESS Technology, Inc.; General Instrument Corporation; Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (IDT); Lara Technology, Inc.; LSI Logic Corporation; Macronix; NEC Corporation; NKK Corporation; Philips Semiconductors; Quantum Effect Devices, Inc. (QED); SandCraft, Inc.; SiByte, Inc; Sony Corporation; Synova; Texas Instruments Incorporated; and Toshiba Corporation. Numerous companies utilize MIPS-based[tm] intellectual property. MIPS Technologies, Inc. is based in Mountain View, California, and can be reached at 650-567-5000 or http://www.mips.com.

MIPS is a registered trademark and MIPS-based, MIPS32, MIPS64 and 4Kp are trademarks of MIPS Technologies, Inc. . All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. All press materials are available on the World Wide Web via: http://www.mips.com.