Conexant's Voice over IP Technology Chosen by Pirelli Broadband Solut

Conexant's Voice over IP Technology Chosen by Pirelli Broadband Solutions; Portfolio Leverage and Customer Support Cited as Factors in Selection Process

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    Business Editors/High-Tech Editors
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    NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 14, 2005--Conexant Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNXT), a worldwide leader in semiconductor solutions for broadband communications, enterprise networks and the digital home, today announced that Pirelli Broadband Solutions, the new company within Pirelli & C. SpA (MIL:PECI) that develops customer premise equipment and service platforms for telecommunications operators worldwide, has selected the company's voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) chip technology for a customized access gateway offering. Conexant's VoIP solution powers Pirelli's Discus(TM) Modular NetGate, a stackable access gateway which can be easily upgraded through modular expansion. This unique feature delivers new technology to the marketplace at the appropriate time and provides significant cost savings to both the telecommunications operator and the end customer.
    "We have a long-standing relationship with Pirelli, and are pleased that they have chosen to leverage our expertise in VoIP telephony for their innovative product," said Zeev Collin, vice president of Voice Access Products for Conexant. "The transition to VoIP is gaining momentum, and forward-thinking operators are moving quickly to capture market share with consumer-friendly products. We are excited to be a part of this trend."
    "Conexant's complementary portfolio of access and networking semiconductor solutions provides us with economies of scale that make it possible for us to deliver advanced, high-quality, cost-effective products for voice and data applications," said Anna Duce, vice president of Marketing and Product Management - Broadband Access for Pirelli Broadband Solutions. "Equally important, they consistently provide us with the products, service and support we need to successfully meet our customers' needs. We are delighted to have them as our silicon partner."
    Pirelli's innovative solutions allow individuals to leverage a single broadband connection for voice and data, while providing them with the flexibility to build an in-home network that is customized with the services that are most important to them. For example, residential consumers will be able to add a voice port to their home gateway, and use their cordless DECT phones to make cost-effective telephone calls over the Internet. The voice call is routed through the gateway and over a broadband connection to the Internet.
    Conexant is leveraging its extensive experience in telephony and voice band processing to deliver solutions for VoIP applications for emerging consumer and small and medium business deployments. Products include voice co-processors and codecs for the easy addition of VoIP to networked devices, complete system solutions including speech and telephony algorithms, network processors, software and reference designs.

    About Pirelli

    Pirelli is a global producer of Tyres, Energy and Telecommunication Cables and Systems. Active also in the Real Estate sector, Pirelli is one of the world's leading companies in all these sectors with more than 36,000 employees, 77 production sites, and total sales of 6.671 billion Euros at 31st December 2003. It focuses its R&D, production resources and competencies on leading-edge technologies, as demonstrated by the advanced Pirelli Labs in the photonics, broadband access and new materials fields and by MIRS - Modular Integrated Robotized System for tyres production. In 2001, Pirelli also acquired - via the company Olimpia - a stake in Telecom Italia group, one of the leading European telecom operators. Additional information on Pirelli is available at: http://www.pirelli.com.

    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 or Pirelli & C. SpA Salvatore Ricco, +39 02 85354270

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA ITALY INTERNATIONAL EUROPE INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKING PRODUCT PHOTO PHOTOWIRE SOURCE: Conexant Systems, Inc. PHOTO: 39413

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