Infineon Unveils Industry's First Octal 10BaseS, a High-density, Low-cost Chipset Ideal for MTU/MDU Applications

San Jose/Munich, Germany, July 30, 2001 – Infineon Technologies (FSE/NYSE: IFX), a leading provider of communications integrated circuits, unveiled today Octal (eight-port) 10BaseS™, a highly integrated chipset designed to benefit systems providers by significantly reducing the cost and design cycle time of Ethernet packet-based broadband access systems. Ideal for multi-tenant unit/multi-dwelling unit (MTU/MDU) applications such as high-density Ethernet switches or DSLAM line cards, the new chipset is based on Infineon’s proprietary 10BaseS™, a technology that extends the reach of Ethernet using existing copper infrastructure.

“The MTU/MDU market has seen substantial growth in the past year and Cahners In-Stat Group latest report estimates the worldwide MTU market will grow from US$1.2 billion in 2001 to US$9.8 billion in 2005,” said Shlomo Berkovitch, general manager of Infineon’s broadband access business unit. “Density and cost are singled out as the critical criteria for next generation MTU/MDU systems and with Infineon’s self contained Octal-10BaseS chipset MTU/MDU systems vendors will experience a dramatic cost reduction as well as shorter time to market.”

Based on Infineon’s highly successful 10BaseS chipset, a product already designed into leading Ethernet based broadband access systems, Infineon's Octal-10BaseS is a simple and cost effective alternative to existing Ethernet PHY components in switch/DSLAM communication systems. In addition to providing more than 25 percent total cost savings per port over existing solutions, Octal-10BaseS offers shorter time to market, transparent Ethernet packet transport, and full compatibility with already deployed 10BaseS CPE devices.

Octal-10BaseS™

10BaseS is a highly integrated, low-power, Ethernet over VDSL quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) solution. The standard line rate is full duplex 12.5 Mbps and transfers Ethernet packets transparently. The line rate is programmable to reach up to 15.6Mbps. Special implementations that support up to 25Mbps bit rates are also possible. Unlike other Ethernet solutions, it does not require costly Cat 5 cabling as it makes use of existing copper pairs while maintaining full integrity for distances of over 4000 ft. /1200m.

Infineon’s Octal-10BaseS is a highly integrated system building block with CPU, clock, AGC and memory. It provides glue-less compatibility with RMII, SMII-interfaces minimizing design complexity, cost and time to market. Directly replacing standard Ethernet PHYs it can be used in switch or DSLAM applications. The existing 10BaseS single port chipset has the same interfaces and can also be configured as a media access controller (MAC) for standalone control of Ethernet PHY devices in CPE applications.

Availability

Infineon’s Octal-10BaseS chipset will be available in Q4/2001. The three chip solution is comprised of: PEF22824 (digital transceiver), PEF22825 (analog front-end) and 8xPEF22810 (line driver). Price per port is US$15 US for quantities of 50K Octal-10BaseS chipsets (400K ports).

This news release and press photo are available at www.infineon.com/news

Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for applications in the wired and wireless communications markets, for security systems and smartcards, for the automotive and industrial sectors, as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In the fiscal year 2000 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 7.28 billion with about 29,000 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at www.infineon.com.


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Any statements in this document that are not statements of historical fact are "forward-looking" and therefore involve risks and uncertainties; actual results may differ from such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those indicated by such forward-looking statements include uncertainties relating to the acceptance of our communications IC solutions, including our xDSL technology offerings, and other business factors and uncertainties that are discussed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the "Risk Factors" section of our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended September 30, 2000. Infineon Technologies undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.