News & Events
Intersil’s PRISM Technology Powers ASUS Entry into Wireless Networking

— New PCMCIA card, access point and home gateway products for the SOHO environment

IRVINE, CA, July 23, 2001 — Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL), the world’s leading developer of silicon technology for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), today announced that ASUSTeK Computer Inc., (TSE:2357), a leading technology solution manufacturer, has integrated Intersil’s PRISM^® 2.5 chip set into its premier series of ASUS WLAN products including an access point, PCMCIA card and Home Gateway device for the home or small office (SOHO).

The ASUS^® WLAN card is a plug-and-play PCMCIA card for notebook computers that enables Wi-Fi wireless networking at 11 megabits-per-second (Mbps) — the equivalent of wired Ethernet. The PCMCIA card’s mobile manager programs allow seamless roaming anywhere while maintaining network connectivity without the use of a dial-up modem or Ethernet switch.

The ASUS access point acts as a wireless hub transmitting data content throughout the home or office via radio frequency signals. It is capable of serving multiple clients and features an 11 megabits-per-second (Mbps) data rate with user-friendly plug-and-play operation for easy installation. It bridges a wireless LAN to a wired Ethernet network or it can extend the range of a wireless network by serving as a repeater station. The access point includes a dipole antenna that provides coverage to wireless clients within 1000 feet in an unobstructed environment or 300 feet in a typical office environment.

"ASUS is the world’s leading manufacturer of high quality motherboards and other PC and networking products and they’ve been an important power management partner for Intersil," said Greg Williams, president and CEO of Intersil. "We’re pleased to expand our partnership with ASUS as they enter the Wi-Fi wireless networking space; their participation will be a big boost in the continuing adoption of wireless networking systems in homes and office."

The ASUS home gateway connects a SOHO network with the Internet. The home gateway is equipped with all the necessary protocols including: NAT, PPPoE, DHCP server, DNS proxy, firewall, virtual private network (VPN) and printer sharing. The VPN function enables mobile workers to connect their private local network to a large public network over the Internet. The wireless VPN allows telecommuters to enjoy the security and mobility of a private WLAN while taking advantage of the economies of scale, software and built-in management facilities of large public networks.

"ASUS wireless products feature the ability to transmit data over longer distances," said Tenlong Deng, director of ASUSTek’s RD4 Division’s Wireless Department. "The PRISM 2.5 chip set technology demonstrates the strong PA linearity and anti-multipath performance needed to carry out this task in our emerging WLAN product designs."

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, Linksys, Nokia, Nortel, Samsung, Scientific-Atlanta, 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 ASUS
Established in 1989, ASUSTeK Computer Inc., (TSE:2357) is the world's leading manufacturer of high quality motherboards, notebooks, VGA cards, servers, broadband modems, and optical storage devices. With annual sales of over $2 Billion and world-class engineering, ASUS provides innovative technology solutions to consumer, corporate and top-tier OEM customers. Company achievements include consecutive rankings in the "Top 100 InfoTech Companies" in 1998 , 1999 and 2000 by Businessweek as well as being named the "8th Most Profitable Company" in 1999. In the year 2000, ASUS was also ranked the No.1 Taiwan Company in Global Views Monthly' "Info Tech 2000".

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 http://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 rate at which consumers adopt small handheld Internet appliances and portable computing devices in enterprise 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 of foundry and assembly capacity and raw materials; intellectual property disputes; as well as other risk factors detailed from time to time in Intersil’s filings with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission ("SEC") which you may obtain for free at the SEC’s Web site www.sec.gov. 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.

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PRISM is a registered trademark of Intersil Americas Inc.

PRISM Indigo, PRISM/work and PRISM/home are trademarks of Intersil Americas Inc.

ASUS is a registered trademark of ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.