News & Events
Intersil and Silicon Wave Unveil World's First Dual-Mode 802.11b and Bluetooth Mini-PCI Card Reference Design

-- Blue802™ technology delivers simultaneous operation of Bluetooth™ and Wi-Fi wireless connectivity

LAS VEGAS, Networld+Interop 2002, May 6, 2002 – Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL), the world’s leading developer of silicon technology for Wireless Local Area Networks, and Silicon Wave, Inc., a world leading silicon developer and provider for Wireless Personal Area Networks, today announced availability of the world’s first mini-PCI card reference design that allows simultaneous operation of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (802.11b) wireless connectivity in notebook PCs and other computing devices while delivering optimal throughput, range and responsiveness. Visit Intersil at Networld + Interop on May 7-9, 2002 in the Wi-Fi Pavillion, Booth #343, to learn more about Blue802™ technology and view a demonstration.

The dual-mode mini-PCI card reference design incorporates Blue802 technology that provides simultaneous optimal operation of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless functionality in a single device. This enables Bluetooth applications such as mouse, keyboard, printing, file transfer and portable device synchronization to run at the same time the user is wirelessly connected to the network via Wi-Fi. Existing solutions on the market that do not incorporate Blue802 technology require the user to manually operate either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to prevent interference and degradation of throughput, range and responsiveness.

“To date, coexistence between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi has been a significant issue impacting the adoption of these two complementary technologies,” said Joyce Putscher, director of converging markets and technologies for In-Stat/MDR. “Silicon Wave and Intersil are the first to deliver technology that addresses this issue transparently to the end user – and helping to usher in a new era in wireless freedom.”

The reference design allows OEMs to quickly bring mini-PCI cards to market at a lower cost than implementing separate modules. The reference design allows both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios to share the same PCB, host interface and antennas, saving integration and material costs. Incorporating Silicon Wave’s Bluetooth qualified SiW1700™ series and Intersil’s PRISM® 3 chipset featuring direct conversion technology, the reference design is optimized for low cost and high performance – proven strengths in Silicon Wave and Intersil’s chip set families.

“The dual-mode mini-PCI card reference design is the world’s first and only Bluetooth and Wi-Fi co-existence solution on the market today that incorporates proven silicon from market leaders, making this a low-risk implementation,” said Jarvis Tou, vice president of marketing and product management for Silicon Wave. “The reference design is being sampled today and we expect products based on our Blue802 technology to appear in notebooks later this year”.

“OEMs can quickly and easily adapt the dual-mode mini-PCI card reference design for use in any Wi-Fi enabled notebook on the market today. Since the reference design is based on a standard Type 3A mini-PCI card and uses a unique dual antenna switching matrix, no modifications to Wi-Fi enabled notebooks are required,” said Dave Feller, director of Marketing for Intersil’s Wireless Networking Business. “Now OEMs can add the benefits of Bluetooth wireless functionality while delivering simultaneous and optimal operation of both wireless technologies to consumers at the lowest possible cost today.”

Technical Features

• Simultaneous operation of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless functions
• Intelligent MAC level collaboration avoids interference
• Both radios are Zero-IF Direct Conversion
  • Uses proven & Bluetooth qualified Silicon Wave SiW1700 series and Intersil PRISM 3 WLAN chip sets
  • Low risk deployment
• Shared dual antennas via switching matrix
• Only 2 antennas required to support both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
• Type 3A mini-PCI card reference design

Pricing and Availability
The dual-mode mini-PCI card reference resign is licensed to manufacturers and is compatible with Microsoft Windows® XP Wireless Architecture. Packaged in a Type 3A mini-PCI card, samples of the reference design are currently available and are being sampled by select notebook and mini-PCI card manufacturers. Qualification samples are expected to be delivered in mid-2002 with volume ramp estimated in Q3’02 for the Fall refresh cycle. Mini-PCI card manufacturers are expected to be offering cards for under $50.

About Blue802™ Technology
Silicon Wave and Intersil have developed Blue802 technology, a unique collaborative real-time communications interface at the MAC layer that is transparent to the notebook PC or portable device user. Data can be transmitted without interference while optimizing system throughput, range, and responsiveness. This enables Bluetooth applications such as mouse, keyboard, printing, file transfer and portable device synch to run at the same time the user is connected to the network over Wi-Fi.

About Silicon Wave, Inc.
Based in San Diego, Silicon Wave designs and produces RF communication system components that consistently deliver superior user experience. Silicon Wave products and services include radio modems, baseband processors, software solutions and a Baseband IP Licensing Program for Bluetooth wireless communications. Founded in 1997, the company was the first to deliver a fully qualified, single-chip radio modem for Bluetooth communications and first to achieve Bluetooth Specification Version 1.1 qualification for its products. Silicon Wave is an Associate Member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. The company's Web site is located at www.siliconwave.com.

About Intersil
Intersil is a global leader in designing innovative wireless networking and high performance analog solutions that enable wireless access to video, data and voice in homes, offices and public places. Creating advanced power management products, Intersil provides reliable solutions for file servers, portable information appliances and over half of all computer microprocessors manufactured today. With a rich high performance analog and mixed signal portfolio, Intersil brings added value in providing complete silicon, software and reference design solutions to new products that bring portable connectivity to people wherever they live, work or travel. Headquartered in Irvine, California, Intersil has offices in cities throughout the US, Europe and Asia. For more information about Intersil or to find out how to become a member of our winning team, visit the company's Web site and career page at www.intersil.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements are based upon Intersil Corporation’s (“Intersil”) management’s current expectations, estimates, beliefs, assumptions, and projections about Intersil’s and Elantec Semiconductor, Inc.’s (“Elantec”) business and industry. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," “predicts,” "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," “should,” “would,” “potential,” “continue,” and variations of these words (or negatives of these words) or similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections, or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, our actual results, and Elantec’s, could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various risk factors. Important risk factors that may cause such material differences for Intersil in the WLAN market, include, but are not limited to: the economic slowdown in the technology sector; the rate at which consumers purchase notebook computers, small handheld Internet appliances, and portable computing devices; the rate at which consumers and end-users adopt Intersil’s wireless technologies and products in enterprises and homes; the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders; the ability of our customers to manage inventory; the loss of a key customer; the qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products; silicon wafer pricing and the availability and quality of our foundry capacity and raw materials; availability, pricing, and quality of third party foundry and assembly and test capacity and raw materials; fluctuations in the manufacturing yields of our third party foundries and assembly and test facilities, and other problems or delays in the fabrication, assembly, testing or delivery of our products; the risks of producing products with new suppliers and at new fabrication and assembly and test facilities; problems or delays that we may face in shifting our products to smaller geometry process technologies; the effectiveness of Intersil’s expense and product cost control and reduction efforts; the risks inherent in acquisitions, including the acquisition of Elantec (including integration issues; costs and unanticipated expenditures; changing relationships with customers, suppliers, and strategic partners; potential contractual, employment, and intellectual property issues; risks of not securing regulatory approvals; accounting treatment and charges; and the risks that the acquisition cannot be completed successfully, or that the anticipated benefits of the acquisition are not realized); intellectual property disputes, customer indemnification claims, and other litigation risks; Intersil’s ability to develop, market, and transition to volume production new products and technologies in a timely manner, as well as other risk factors. Intersil’s recently filed joint proxy statement/prospectus related to the merger with Elantec, Annual Report on Form 10-K and other Intersil filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) (which you may obtain for free at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov) discuss some of the important risk factors that may affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this communication and Intersil undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements. The diamond logo design is a registered trademark and Silicon Wave, SiW product name prefix and Blue802 are trademarks of Silicon Wave, Inc.
Bluetooth is a trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc., and licensed to Silicon Wave, Inc.
PRISM is a registered trademark of Intersil Americas Inc.
All other product, service and company names are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.