Press Releases
Intersil’s PRISM® WLAN Solution Selected by Alcatel For New SpeedTouch™ Wireless Product

New Alcatel product is a starter solution for home wireless networking

IRVINE, Calif., June 7, 2000 — Intersil (NASDAQ: ISIL)—the world’s leading developer of silicon technology for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs)—announced that its PRISM WLAN solution has been selected by Alcatel (ALA) for their new SpeedTouch™ Wireless ADSL-to-wireless product, to be launched at the Supercomm trade show held this month in Atlanta.

SpeedTouch™ offers high-speed Internet access via asymmetrical digital subscriber line (ADSL) phone line and features wireless distribution of services to any computer, communication, entertainment device or information appliance. Alcatel’s product complies to the global wireless standard (IEEE 802.11b) that governs operation up to 11 megabits per second (Mbps), giving users access at full-speed and with all the advantages of a robust, mobile and flexible network. The innovative new product combines a high-speed ADSL modem with a wireless hub to connect many information appliances throughout the home.

"Alcatel is the world's leading supplier of ADSL systems," said Larry Ciaccia, vice president and general manager of PRISM Wireless Products at Intersil. "We’re very pleased that they’ve selected our PRISM products to provide the wireless feature behind their excellent modem. This announcement further validates the worldwide acceptance of the IEEE 802.11 for both home and office wireless networking."

PRISM WLAN solutions are ideal for use in the home environment because they eliminate the costs and hassles of installing network wiring while giving users the freedom to work and play anywhere in the home. The fast, 11 Mbps speed of this wireless network perfectly matches Alcatel's strategy to bring high-speed services to the home through digital subscriber line (DSL) pipelines.

"We believe that the high speed and robust performance of IEEE802.11-based systems combined with ease of installation and configuration, will again lower the threshold that users, network operators, service providers, computer and appliance vendors need to cross in reaching for high speed connectivity across the Internet," said Marc Hermans, vice president and general manager of Alcatel’s DSL CPE activities. "Having made that choice, selecting Intersil’s advanced and proven PRISM solution was easy. It’s our hope that visitors who see our demo at Supercomm in Atlanta will be impressed with the practicality of high-speed wireless for the home."

PRISM II is the most highly integrated WLAN chip set on the market today, delivering wired Ethernet-equivalent data rates and compliance to the IEEE’s 802.11b global standard. Optimized for high data rate (11 Mbps) wireless networking, PRISM II-based systems are feature-rich and provide better, more reliable performance in all types of networking environments. Advanced design and silicon germanium (SiGe) process technologies reduce power consumption, design complexity and total system cost.

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 802.11 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. PRISM chips are used in WLAN systems from industry-leading companies including Nokia, Siemens, Cisco, Compaq, 3Com, Dell, Nortel, Samsung, SpectraLink, Symbol, and Zoom.

About Alcatel
Alcatel builds next generation networks, delivering integrated end-to-end voice and data networking solutions to established and new carriers, as well as enterprises and consumers worldwide. With 120,000 employees and sales of EURO 23 billion in 1999, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries.

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 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.

This press release contains information relating to the growing demand for wireless products 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. 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.

PRISM is a registered trademark of Intersil Corporation.
SpeedTouch is a registered trademark of Alcatel.