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Intersil Communications Design Center Opens in Seattle

— Center to Develop New Products for Broadband, Wireless and Power Management Applications

IRVINE, Calif., —– June 30, 2000 —– Intersil (NASDAQ: ISIL), a leading systems-oriented provider of circuits and semiconductors for the integrated communications market, announced today that it has selected Seattle, Wash., as the location for the company’s Northwest design center. The design center’s technology development efforts will focus on the Intersil’s CommLink™ Broadband Wireless, Power Management and PRISM^® Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) products.

IRVINE, Calif., —– June 30, 2000 —– Intersil (NASDAQ: ISIL), a leading systems-oriented provider of circuits and semiconductors for the integrated communications market, announced today that it has selected Seattle, Wash., as the location for the company’s Northwest design center. The design center’s technology development efforts will focus on the Intersil’s CommLink™ Broadband Wireless, Power Management and PRISM^® Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) products.

"Intersil recognizes Seattle’s high concentration of communication-based companies, such as Intel, Microsoft, Intermec, ATT Wireless, Motorola, Palm and HP," said Jeff Mansmann, vice president of engineering for Intersil’s Communication Integrated Circuit business. "Our geographic proximity to other developers of next-generation information products and technology is a critical component of the company remaining ahead of the market. Intersil can also tap into Seattle’s large and experienced base of knowledge workers who can transform innovative ideas into marketable products."

The approximately 15,000 square foot Seattle design center is expected to open its doors and be fully operational by mid-summer. Intersil anticipates that the facility will employ up to 25 full-time engineers. The Seattle location joins the company’s other design facilities in Irvine, Calif., Palm Bay, Fla., San Antonio, Texas, North Branch N.J., Mountaintop, Pa., and Research Triangle Park, N.C.

CommLink Development Activities
"Intersil is innovating advanced cellular base station products, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and voice over digital subscriber line (VoDSL) products and wireless networking products using advanced silicon technology," said George Gidzinski, vice president and general manager of the Intersil Communication ICs business. "The company’s portfolio enables high-speed access to portable and desktop information appliances. The groundswell of interest surrounding broadband wireless and information devices has driven technology development. Intersil looks to further its role in meeting these market challenges and facilitating the next generation of communications expansion.

A recent report by Dataquest identifies a market demand for quality wireless service at prices that are competitive with traditional landline service. Semiconductor technology is expected to help achieve this goal by providing higher capacity digital signal processing (DSP) to dynamically allocate frequency capacity when using smart antenna technology. Intersil will continue to develop and design products that specifically address the frequency capacity and power limitations inherent in current cellular technology and battery-powered portable devices. The engineers in the Seattle design center will be working closely with Intersil engineers at other design centers to innovate solutions for this new generation of communications products.

PRISM Wireless Development Activities
"With Intersil’s acquisitions of Choice Microsystems and No Wires Needed, we’ve added tremendously to our pool of wireless LAN talent," said Larry Ciaccia, vice president and general manager of Intersil’s PRISM Wireless Products business. "Even so, we are in need of additional engineering talent in the areas of software, firmware, RF and networking to meet the growing demand for our PRISM wireless LAN chipset. We’re very pleased to tap into the Seattle talent pool and provide closer support to our customers on the West Coast."

Intersil is the world’s leading developer of silicon technology for wireless LANs, and the company’s PRISM technology is the only complete chip set solution on the market today. In a May 2000 report, Cahners In-Stat Group called Intersil "the dominant force in the WLAN chip set marketplace with their PRISM chipsets holding the majority of market share." PRISM chips are used in WLAN systems from industry-leading companies including Nokia, Siemens, Cisco, Compaq, 3Com, Dell, Nortel, Samsung, SpectraLink, Symbol, and Zoom.

Power Management Development Activities
"Intersil’s power management integrated circuits (IC) address the requirements of advanced microprocessors," said Mansmann. "The global growth of e-commerce hinges upon the reliability of servers and supporting infrastructure. Similarly, corporations are increasingly integrating global Intranets into the fabric of their business practices. Microprocessors are becoming increasingly powerful to support the 24/7 demands placed upon networks and servers. Intersil designs ICs that enable the efficient use and control of the power required by the microprocessor to operate in these demanding environments. The design center in Seattle will enable Intersil to increase its capacity to evaluate and design products that meet complex power management challenges."

Network reliability and the trend toward higher current requirements, power conservation and power transience in desktop PCs are also fueling power management IC development. Intersil hotplug solutions are designed to minimize downtime in high capacity storage deployments, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID). Multiphase controller ICs have been developed to efficiently utilize power and regulate voltage levels in portable and desktop PC applications.

About Intersil
Intersil uses its semiconductor expertise to enable highly integrated voice, data and video communications. Intersil's integrated communications portfolio includes PRISM^® Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) chip sets that enable mobile connectivity products for the home and office; analog, mixed-signal and digital integrated circuits for broadband access to wireless and wired Wide Area Networks (WANs); and power management products that enable 24x7 reliability in network servers, next generation PCs and information appliances. For more information about Intersil, visit the company's Internet homepage at www.intersil.com.

CommLink is a trademark of Intersil Corporation.
PRISM is a registered trademark of Intersil Corporation.