News & Events
Intersil Applauds Final Approval by IEEE of the 802.11g Standard for High Data Rates in the 2.4 GHz Spectrum

-- New Standard provides 54 Mbps data rates in the 2.4 GHz band~-- Mandatory Protection Mechanism ensures backwards compatibility to 802.11b systems~-- Intersil's PRISM GT chip set is 100% compliant to the new 802.11g standard

MILPITAS, CA, June 12, 2003 – Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL), a world leader in the design and manufacture of high performance analog and wireless networking solutions, announced today its endorsement of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) final approval of the 802.11g Standard. The IEEE’s decision validates Intersil’s long commitment to develop high performance 802.11g Wireless Local Area Networking (WLAN) chip sets and reference designs that will allow data rates up to 54 megabits per second (Mbps) in the 2.4 GHz spectrum while remaining 100% backwards compatible to the existing installed base of over 40 million 802.11b systems worldwide.

“Wireless networks have made tremendous technological advancements in recent years and with the IEEE’s final approval of the 802.11g Standard, WLANs are now poised for rapid growth and widespread deployment in the home, office and public access hot spots,” said Larry Ciaccia, vice president and general manager of Intersil’s Wireless Networking Product Group. “Intersil has a long and productive history of established leadership in the IEEE standards activity and was instrumental in supporting and driving the advancment of the 802.11g Standard. The IEEE’s decision to include Complementary Code Keying (CCK), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), and Protection Mechanism as mandatory elements of the 802.11g Standard, ensures complete backward compatibility to, and higher speeds than, today’s 802.11b products.”

Intersil’s new WLAN software solution, PRISM Nitro, improves 802.11g throughput by using prioritization algorithms and enhanced protection mechanisms to significantly increase 802.11g network performance, particularly in mixed mode operation with legacy 802.11b equipment. PRISM Nitro is the first solution for turbocharging 802.11g systems, and most notably, it’s done in a way that is fully compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standards. PRISM Nitro provides up to up to a 3x improvement in performance for 802.11g clients operating in mixed-mode wireless networks and about 50% greater throughput performance in homogeneous 802.11g-only networks.

The PRISM GT chip set achieves the lowest standby current, receive current, and average idle current of any 802.11g solution on the market today. Testing of 802.11g products available in retail today found that PRISM GT’s Power Save Mode achieved both the lowest average idle and active currents — beating the competition by up to 75%. PRISM GT’s receive mode current was also up to 35% lower than competitive solutions. Both of these factors enable PRISM GT to consume lower power than competitive solutions over a wide range of user activity.

“Formal adoption of 802.11g by the IEEE is a huge win for the wireless industry,” commented Ciaccia. “802.11g is an important complement to today’s 802.11b products and it meets our customers’ demands for significant speed increases in the 2.4 GHz band, necessary for multi-channel DVD-quality video and CD-quality audio applications.” About Intersil
Intersil Corporation is a global semiconductor leader in the design and manufacture of high performance analog and wireless networking solutions. Intersil’s product portfolios address four fast growing markets – flat panel displays, optical storage (CD and DVD recordable), power management and wireless networking. Intersil brings added customer value in providing complete silicon, software and reference design solutions to new products that enhance the computing experience for people wherever they live, work or travel. 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 release may include "forward looking statements" that are subject to risks and uncertainties. For information identifying economic, political, climatic, currency, regulatory, technological, competitive and some other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward looking statements, see Intersil’s Safe Harbor Forward Looking Statement disclaimer found at http://www.intersil.com/legal.asp, as well as Intersil’s SEC filings as updated from time to time, found at http://www.sec.gov. PRISM GT and PRISM Nitro are trademarks of Intersil Americas Inc.
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