MystiCom and VLSI Technology Ink Agreement to Offer the Industry's Highest Performance Fast Ethernet PHY

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MystiCom and VLSI Technology Ink Agreement to Offer the Industry's Highest Performance Fast Ethernet PHY

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- June 21, 1999 -- MystiCom, LTD. joins forces with VLSI Technology, a subsidiary of Philips Semiconductors (NYSE: PHG), to deliver the industry's highest performance 10/100 Mbps Ethernet PHY to facilitate System-on-a-Chip (SOC) networking applications. VLSI Technology, the leading ASIC and ASSP provider for WAN, LAN, Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet solutions, is the latest supplier to license MystiCom's MystiPHY™ 110, a 10/100 DSP-based Ethernet PHY for integration into VLSI's advanced 0.20-micron fabrication processes.

Under terms of the agreement, MystiCom will deliver the MystiPHY110 as a reusable PHY building block that is seamlessly integrated into VLSI's process technologies, allowing network and communication systems to deliver cost-efficient, high-performance applications to market quickly. End-product applications may include: NICs, routers, switches, repeaters, multi-function telephony products, networked printers and set-top boxes.

"This licensing agreement will enable VLSI to generate the industry's most cost-effective embedded Fast Ethernet networking applications with a migration path to Gigabit Ethernet," said Dr. David Almagor, founder and CEO of MystiCom, Ltd. "By leveraging VLSI's advanced ASIC libraries, leading networking systems companies can readily avail themselves of MystiCom's best-in-class DSP-based System-on-a-Chip solutions to alleviate time-to-market pressures and to hedge against price erosion."

"MystiCom's MystiPHY110 core raises the standard for cost-efficient, high- performance networking applications," said David Luskin, Senior Business Development Manager at VLSI. "The MystiPHY110 is easily ported to VLSI's sophisticated 0.20-micron process and our future process technologies. The combination of the MystiPHY110 core and VLSI's Velocity™ design reuse methodology offers our customers a solution that not only meets the demand for Systems-on-a-Chip with greater bandwidth and interoperability with existing Ethernet protocols, but also provides time-to-market advantages." Highest Performance, Lowest Power Solutions

The MystiPHY110, implemented in VLSI's advanced 0.2-micron process, is lower in power than any competitive solution currently on the market. With estimated power dissipation of 290 mW at 100 Mbps and a die area of 3.5 square millimeters per port, the MystiPHY110 enables increased port density and reduced cost per port for higher bandwidth applications.

The DSP-based architecture is more robust than the traditional analog architecture and will more easily integrate multiple ports into a custom SOC device. The performance is verified to run on cable connections greater than 150 meters and testing has shown superior immunity to alien noise. In many environments alien noise impacts system performance, which will worsen as networks start migrating to Gigabit speeds.

Availability

The MystiPHY110 core in VLSI's 0.2-micron libraries is expected to be available by the fourth quarter of 1999. For more information on the MystiPHY110, contact MystiCom at (650) 210-8080, or visit the company Web site at www.mysticom.com.

About MystiCom

Founded in 1997, MystiCom focuses on the design of semiconductor devices targeted for various high-speed digital communications applications. The company's first product line implements the physical layer (PHY) for Local Area Networks (LANs) using Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet protocols.

Headquartered in Netanya, Israel, with marketing and customer support offices in the Silicon Valley, Calif. MystiCom is dedicated to providing companies with DSP and mixed-signal VLSI cores for high-speed communications. Additional information can be found at www.mysticom.com.

About VLSI Technology

VLSI Technology, a subsidiary of Philips Semiconductors, designs and manufactures custom and semicustom integrated circuits for leading firms in the wireless communications, networking, consumer digital entertainment and computing markets. VLSI's value proposition is based on full-service customer support, deep libraries of vertical market-focused IC intellectual property, unparalleled custom circuit design expertise enabled through the Velocity Rapid Silicon Prototyping design style, and one of the world's most flexible and efficient custom circuit manufacturing facilities in San Antonio, Texas. The Company is based in San Jose, California, with 1998 revenues from continuing operations of $547.8 million, and approximately 2,200 employees worldwide. Visit VLSI's homepage at www.vlsi.com.

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MystiPHY is a trademark of MystiCom, Inc. Velocity is a trademark of VLSI Technology. All other names and marks are the property of their respective holders.