News & Events
Intersil’s PRISM Wireless Technology Helps MBA Students Make the Grade at the University of California-Davis

— PRISM technology leading the emerging wireless trend on college campuses
— Mobile connectivity boosts MBA recruitment

IRVINE, Calif. and DAVIS, Calif. — September 15, 2000 — Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL), the world’s leading developer of silicon technology for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), announced today that its PRISM wireless technology will help students at the University of California-Davis experience new levels of productivity.

Beginning this fall, students at the UC-Davis Graduate School of Management will be able to wirelessly connect to the school’s network and the Internet at speeds up to 11 megabits per second (Mbps) by plugging PRISM-based wireless LAN cards into their notebook computers.

Based upon qualitative testing conducted this summer, the school is currently recommending Dell, Cisco, and 3Com WLAN cards for student purchase. These PRISM-based PC cards fit into student laptops and provide a high-speed wireless link to the campus server via Cisco Aironet 340 Series Access Points (APs), also PRISM-based, located throughout the school’s building.

"The wireless network extends into areas that we would never be able to wire," says Don Blodger, Assistant Dean of Admissions and Student Services at the UC-Davis Graduate School of Management. "Wireless technology gives students the freedom to conduct research without worrying about where the connections are. For example, they don’t have to be confined to a computer lab for network access but will be free to work in groups or do team projects in the student lounge, faculty offices, conference rooms, courtyards and other areas within range of the access points. We feel that this opens new channels of creativity and productivity and gives us a distinct advantage among MBA schools."

WLAN technology based on the IEEE 802.11 standard is gaining popularity and is being successfully deployed on many college campuses across the country, including Colorado State University, the University of Florida, Cornell University and Vanderbilt University. The mobility of a wireless laptop or handheld encourages students to collaborate and exchange ideas in the convenient setting of their choice. With the advent of high-data-rate wireless local area networks, impromptu learning centers can be found throughout the college campus, making once unproductive areas productive.

Adoption of PRISM WLAN Technology
Since introducing the PRISM WLAN chip set in 1996, over fifty companies have incorporated PRISM chips in more than 100 product designs. In a May 2000 report, the 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 technology is designed to comply with the IEEE’s 802.11b 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 802.11b-based systems. PRISM chips are used in WLAN systems from industry-leading companies including Alcatel, Cisco, Nokia, Siemens, Compaq, 3Com, Dell, Nortel, Samsung, SpectraLink, Symbol Technologies and Zoom.

About Intersil
Irvine, California-based 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 and mixed-signal 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.

About the UC Davis Graduate School of Management
The UC Davis Graduate School of Management was conceived just over 19 years ago to meet the increasing need for quality management education in the growing Sacramento Valley region. Since 1996, U.S. News & World Report has ranked the UC Davis MBA program among the top 20 public institutions and in the top 50 public and private MBA programs in the nation, making it the youngest public MBA program ever to be ranked.

This year, U.S. News & World Report ranked the UC Davis MBA program 18th among public institutions and 42nd among both public and private MBA programs in the nation.

This press release contains information relating to the growing demand for the WLAN market that are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based upon management’s current expectations, estimates, beliefs, assumptions, and projections about our business and our 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 and Intersil is not responsible for forward looking statements and projections of others. These forward-looking statements 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 the forward looking statements as a result of various risk factors. Important risk factors that may cause such material differences for Intersil in connection with the wireless market include, but are not limited to, the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Intersil’s wireless technologies and products; 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. 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 Corporation.