Aware Inc. Announces Availability Of ASIC Cores For DSL Chipsets; Aware's ASIC Cores Will Accelerate DSL Development for Chip Makers

Business Wire, Oct 6, 1998

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 1998-- Aware Inc. (NASDAQ:AWRE), a worldwide leader in DSL (digital subscriber line) technology for high-speed Internet access, today announced the availability of ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) cores for silicon providers and equipment manufacturers who wish to rapidly integrate full-rate ADSL or DSL-Lite technology into their product lines while reducing their development risk.

Aware's field-proven, highly specialized cores enable "system on a chip" designers to treat complex ADSL functions as easy-to-use building blocks that may be incorporated into application specific integrated circuits. The cores enable silicon providers and equipment manufacturers to leverage Aware's experience and expertise to dramatically reduce development risks and time to market.

Immediately available in multiport configurations for high-port density solutions are Aware's Alphaeus and Zephyr cores.

The Alphaeus core implements the transition from ADSL data to ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) cells enabling ATM over ADSL transmissions per ANSI T1.413 and the ITU I.432 standards. Utopia Level 1 or 2 interfaces are provided per the ADSL Forum Utopia Specifications.

The Zephyr core implements the protocols and data integrity functions required for standard-compliant ADSL solutions. This highly configurable core supports all framing, error correction and interleaving modes required by ANSI T1.413 and the upcoming ITU G.Lite standard.

Alphaeus and Zephyr are the first in a family of ASIC cores that Aware has developed to provide the functionality of a complete, standard-compliant DMT modem. Each core is available in multiport configurations for developers of central office and digital loop carrier solutions and single port configurations for designers of customer premise and PC modem solutions.

"As a technology leader in the ADSL industry, Aware aims to provide standard-compliant solutions in readily useable forms that accelerate the deployment of true high-speed Internet access using ADSL," said Michael Tzannes, president and chief executive officer of Aware.

Lucent Technologies Microelectronics Group is licensing Aware's Zephyr core to accelerate Lucent's deployment of its WildWire(tm) DSL modem communications chip technology.

"Aware's Zephyr core is easily integrated within Lucent's WildWire modem chipset solution," said Bob Rango, general manager of new business initiatives with Lucent's Microelectronics Group. "The resulting WildWire DSL chipset will be brought to market quicker as a result of this technology."

These highly optimized cores are available in VHDL and Verilog hardware description languages as well as gate-level netlists targeted at specific semiconductor manufacturing processes. Aware supports the integration of its solutions through the circuit fabrication, verification, test and deployment process.

In addition to ASIC cores, Aware's technology and software solutions include system models and designs, run-time software and board-level designs. These technology solutions are available or will be available for each of the company's three DSL applications - asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), DSL-Lite, and very-high-speed digital subscriber line (VDSL). Each of these applications implements one of two modulation techniques for transmitting data - discrete multitone (DMT) or discrete wavelet multitone (DWMT).

About Aware

Aware Inc. designs, develops, licenses and markets DSL technology that enables high-speed Internet access over existing telephone networks. The company licenses its intellectual property and software to semiconductor manufacturers and equipment manufacturers who manufacture and sell integrated circuits or equipment incorporating Aware technology. Aware markets its technology to systems companies to encourage them to design Aware technology into their products, and to service providers to encourage them to deploy new broadband services based on Aware's technology. Aware is a member of RAPID (Reusable Application-Specific Intellectual Property Developers) industry consortium. More information about Aware can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.aware.com.

Note to Investors:

This press release contains certain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to future events or the future financial performance of Aware. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements include the risks described in various SEC filings that Aware, Inc. has made on its Forms S-1, 10-K, and 10-Q, which factors are incorporated herein by reference.