Aware and NEC Corporation Announce Licensing Agreement to Develop G.992.2 Standards Based G.lite Chipset

Business Wire, May 17, 1999

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 1999--

Aware, Inc. (NASDAQ:AWRE), a worldwide leader in xDSL (digital subscriber line) technology for high-speed Internet access today announced a licensing agreement with NEC Corporation (NASDAQ:NIPNY), the second largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world. According to the agreement, NEC Corporation will license Aware's G.992.2 standards-based G.Lite technology and software for use in its recently launched uPD98541 ADSL chipset.

Aware will provide NEC Corporation with fully interoperable, G992.2 standard compliant DSL system architecture and design technology. NEC will incorporate Aware's technology in its ANSI T1.413 full rate chipset (uPD98541) providing customers with both G.Lite and full rate ADSL functionality in a single chipset. NEC will use its extensive sales channels to market the chipset to telecommunications and networking system providers as well as modem manufacturers worldwide. NEC Electronics Inc., the wholly-owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, will market the G.Lite enabled chipset in North America.

Aware's G.Lite technology delivers data transmission speeds of up to 1.5 Mbps downstream and up to 512 kbps upstream at distances of up to 24,000 feet. Aware's G.Lite technology optimizes broadband data transmission over telephone lines without interrupting regular telephone service, enabling always-on data connections.

NEC's comprehensive range of semiconductor solutions for the communications market covers LAN, WAN and wireless applications. With its proven leadership in large scale silicon level integration and system-on-a-chip technology, NEC provides the solutions increasingly demanded by system manufacturers. Aware's proven experience in ADSL system design and firmware delivers optimal ADSL physical layer performance to equipment suppliers in the increasingly competitive ADSL equipment market.

"The ADSL market is ready for high volumes as service availability picks up and prices come down," said Greg Sheppard, GartnerGroup/Dataquest analyst. "The alliance of NEC and Aware is the type of partnership that has the potential to ensure interoperability and cost effective solutions for mass deployment of ADSL service."

"We are extremely pleased to be working with a semiconductor manufacturer with the worldwide presence of NEC Corporation. NEC's ability to deliver integrated, cost-effective, power-efficient silicon solutions for the communications industry and its particular expertise in large-scale silicon level integration are widely known. Our relationship with NEC signals accelerating momentum in the ADSL marketplace," said Michael A. Tzannes, president and chief executive officer of Aware.

"Aware's G.Lite technology is the de facto standard in the DSL industry and we are pleased to add DSL interoperability to our chipset" said Kyuichi Hareyama, general manager of NEC's 2nd System LSI Division. "We believe NEC can offer a variety of customer oriented solutions based on Aware's excellent DSL technology and our system-on-a-chip solutions," he added.

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 sell integrated circuits or equipment incorporating Aware technology. Aware markets its technology to systems companies to encourage them to design its technology into their products, and to service providers to encourage them to deploy new broadband services based on its technology. More information about Aware can be found at http://www.aware.com.

About NEC Corporation

NEC Corporation (NASDAQ:NIPNY) (FTSE:6701q.l) pioneered the concept of C&C, the integration of Computers and Communications, and is the only company in the world to be counted among top ranking corporations spanning the wide range of fields essential for this vision of multimedia: computers, communications and electron devices. Employing more than 150,000 people around the world, NEC saw net sales in fiscal year 1997-98 of 4,901 billion yen (approx. US$40 billion). For further information, visit the NEC home page at: http://www.nec-global.com

Note to Investors:

This press release contains certain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to future events or 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.