Conexant Receives 'EE Times' ACE Award for RF and Microwave Ultimate

Conexant Receives 'EE Times' ACE Award for RF and Microwave Ultimate Product of the Year

    Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

    NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 10, 2005--

Company's Low-Power Satellite Tuner Recognized at Inaugural Gala in San Francisco
    Conexant Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNXT), a worldwide leader in semiconductor solutions for broadband communications, enterprise networks and the digital home, today announced that its low-power radio frequency (RF) CX24113 satellite tuner received the "EE Times" ACE Award for the Ultimate Product of the Year in the "RF and Microwave" category. This award goes to the most significant product introduced in the past 12 months in seven different categories. Finalists in each category were chosen by a prestigious panel of industry experts, and rated on technical significance and likelihood of use. The winners were announced at a gala event last night at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
    "We are honored to be the recipient of this important award," said Jeff Crosby, vice president of Broadband Media Processing for Conexant. "'EE Times' is a trusted resource for engineers worldwide, and we are particularly gratified to have been recognized by such a stellar group of industry experts."
    The CX24113 satellite tuner was developed to address the demand for low-cost, high-performance tuners in emerging free-to-air (FTA) digital television markets in Europe, India and Asia Pacific. Its highly integrated design allows manufacturers to reduce bill-of-material costs (BOM) while saving valuable board space and simplifying product design.
    According to industry analyst firm In-Stat/MDR, the FTA set-top box (STB) market is expected to grow from approximately 35 million boxes in 2004 to more than 500 million in 2008.
    Conexant has shipped more than 80 million tuners and demodulators to date. The company's CX24113 is a highly integrated satellite tuner solution that incorporates an advanced fractional-N synthesizer, inter-integrated circuit (I2C(TM)) compatible serial interface, a fully integrated local oscillator, and variable baseband filters. It also includes a stand-alone low-noise amplifier that can be used for a loop-through design or can provide enhanced sensitivity for FTA applications. The low-power chip features an improved power supply rejection ratio (PSRR), which reduces BOM cost, and requires only a single +3.3V supply. It also includes a built-in auto-tuning machine that eliminates the need for software calibration and accelerates the power-up time. The on-chip fractional synthesizer enables fine frequency step size without adversely affecting lock time. The CX24113 does not require a balun, further reducing overall BOM costs.
    Conexant offers a comprehensive suite of digital STB components and system solutions for worldwide satellite, terrestrial and cable entertainment broadcasting networks. Products include silicon tuners, satellite communications channel demodulators, MPEG audio and video decoders, and dial-up modems for back-channel applications. Complete reference designs that help manufacturers reduce cost and speed time-to-market are also available, bundled with a range of operating systems, middleware, driver and development tools.

    About Conexant

    Conexant's innovative semiconductor solutions are driving broadband communications, enterprise networks and digital home networks worldwide. The company has leveraged its expertise and leadership position in modem technologies to enable more Internet connections than all of its competitors combined, and continues to develop highly integrated silicon solutions for broadband data and media processing networks.
    Key products include client-side xDSL and cable modem solutions, home network processors, broadcast video encoders and decoders, digital set-top box components and systems solutions, and dial-up modems. Conexant's suite of networking components includes a leadership portfolio of IEEE 802.11a/b/g-compliant WLAN chipsets, software and reference designs, as well as solutions for applications based on HomePlug(SM) and HomePNA(TM). The company also offers a complete line of asymmetric and symmetric DSL central office solutions, which are used by service providers worldwide to deliver broadband data, voice, and video over copper telephone lines.
    Conexant is a fabless semiconductor company that recorded more than $900 million in revenues in fiscal year 2004. The company has approximately 2,400 employees worldwide, and is headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif. To learn more, please visit us at www.conexant.com.

    Safe Harbor Statement

    This press release contains statements relating to our future results (including certain projections and business trends) that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the substantial losses the company has incurred recently; the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry and the markets addressed by the company's and its customers' products; demand for and market acceptance of new and existing products; successful development of new products; the timing of new product introductions and product quality; the company's ability to anticipate trends and develop products for which there will be market demand; the availability of manufacturing capacity; pricing pressures and other competitive factors; changes in product mix; product obsolescence; the ability to develop and implement new technologies and to obtain protection for the related intellectual property; the uncertainties of litigation and the demands it may place on the time and attention of company management; and the risk that the businesses of Conexant and GlobespanVirata have not yet been completely and may not be integrated successfully, as well as other risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    Conexant is a registered trademark of Conexant Systems, Inc. Other brands and names contained in this release are the property of their respective owners.

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CONTACT: Conexant Systems, Inc. Gwen Carlson, 949-483-7363

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA AWARD INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE TELECOMMUNICATIONS PRODUCT SOURCE: Conexant Systems, Inc.

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