News & Events
Intersil’s PRISM® Technology Combined with Sharp’s Original MAC Technology Yields Sharp’s New Wireless TV System

— Wireless connectivity enables mobile TV viewing throughout the home

IRVINE, CA, September 11, 2001 – Intersil (NASDAQ: ISIL), the world’s leading developer of silicon technology for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), today announced that Sharp Corporation, a leader in LCD TV, has integrated Intersil’s PRISM® WLAN chip sets in their new AN-SS700 audio/visual digital transmission system that allows wireless television viewing throughout the home as long as an electrical outlet is available.

"Its exciting to see a highly respected company such as Sharp extend wireless connectivity to consumer television products," said Allen Nogee, Senior Industry Analyst for Cahners In-Stat. "Sharp’s new LCD system, enabled by Intersil’s PRISM® WLAN technology, is a significant step forward in driving consumer market adoption of Wi-Fi (802.11b) products."

The AN-SS700 is a highly efficient, completely digital, high-speed wireless system that operates in the 2.4 GHz band. PRISM’s wireless technology enables Sharp’s audio/visual system to provide high-quality, low-noise reception in rooms blocked by walls or out of line-of-sight.

"Sharp’s new audio/visual digital transmission system is further evidence of the growing acceptance of wireless reception for the home and promises to liberate consumers from a cumbersome wired world," said Larry Ciaccia, vice president and general manager of Intersil’s Wireless Networking Business. "Original equipment manufacturers are producing a wide-range of stimulating and exciting PRISM®-based products that extend beyond traditional PC-based applications in the emerging home market."

The AN-SS700’s compact package includes a transmitter and receiver each measuring approximately 5.83 (width) by 3.11 (height) by 1.54 (depth) inches. Using PRISM® WLAN technology, Sharp’s original MAC technology and a high performance MPEG2 encoder/decoder to handle compressed audio and video, the AN-SS700 transmitter is connected to a VCR, DVD player or satellite tuner by composite video signal. The video pictures received by the AN-SS700 are wirelessly transmitted as digital signals and viewed remotely in the home on the LCD TV connected to the receiver unit. A wireless remote control enables the user to operate the transmitter and typical audio-visual equipment attached to the transmitter.

Intersil’s PRISM® chip sets are the most highly integrated WLAN silicon solutions on the market. PRISM® chip sets deliver wireless Ethernet networking with compliance to the Wi-Fi (IEEE’s 802.11b) global standard. Optimized for high data rate (11 Mbps) performance, PRISM®-based systems are feature-rich and provide fast, reliable performance in all types of networking environments. Advanced design and process technologies reduce power consumption, design complexity and total system cost.

The Global Wireless Market Embraces PRISM® WLAN Technology
"Intersil is the number one manufacturer of wireless LAN chipsets and has been a driving force behind the success of WLANs," said a May 2001 WLAN report from Cahners In-Stat Group. Since introducing the PRISM® WLAN chip set in 1996, over 50 of the industry-leading companies including Actiontec, Alcatel, Cisco, Compaq, 3Com, Dell, D-Link, GemTek, IBM, Legend, Linksys, Nokia, Nortel, Panasonic, Quanta, Samsung, Scientific-Atlanta, Sharp, Siemens, SOHOware, Sony, SpectraLink, Symbol and Zoom have incorporated PRISM chips in more than 100 product designs. PRISM technology is designed to comply with the IEEE’s 802.11 global standard, and Intersil is a founding sponsor of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA), whose Wi-Fi brand is a mark of compatibility for 802.11-based systems.

About Sharp
At Sharp Corporation, our challenge is to create a balance between work time and personal time, with products that can benefit people's lives at work, at home, and everywhere in between. Sharp consumer electronics can enhance your enjoyment, add to your comfort and open new perspectives. Sharp business products can boost your productivity and reduce costs. Thus, our creed: From Sharp Minds Come Sharp Products — products designed to help individuals, families, and corporate teams connect effortlessly, communicate clearly, and unleash creativity like never before. Sharp is dedicated to improving people's lives through the use of advanced technology and a commitment to innovation, quality, value, and design.

About Intersil
Intersil is a leading communications company and supplier of semiconductors, reference designs and software for wireless networking and analog markets. Intersil applies analog, mixed-signal and radio frequency (RF) expertise to products that enable wireless and voice access to broadband media; provide reliable power management in all PCs, file servers and portable information appliances; and perform analog and digital signal conversion for cellular and Internet infrastructure. For more information about Intersil, visit the company's Internet homepage at www.intersil.com.

This press release contains information relating to certain projections and business trends concerning the WLAN market that are 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 management’s current expectations, estimates, beliefs, assumptions, and projections about our business and industry. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will" and variations 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. Furthermore, any forward-looking statements and projections made by others in this press release are not adopted by Intersil Corporation ("Intersil") and Intersil is not responsible for the forward-looking statements and projections of others. 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 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 connection with WLAN market include, but are not limited to: the recent economic slowdown in the technology sector and the semiconductor industry; the rate at which consumers adopt small handheld Internet appliances and portable computing devices in enterprises and in homes; the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Intersil’s wireless technologies and products, including our embedded LAN applications; the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders; 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 foundry and assembly capacity and raw materials; adoption of electronic standards by IEEE in the WLAN market; the effectiveness of Intersil’s expense and product cost control and reduction efforts; 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K, recent and forthcoming Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other Intersil filings with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission ("SEC") (which you may obtain for free at the SEC’s Web site 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 press release and Intersil undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements.

PRISM is a registered trademark of Intersil Americas Inc.
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