Altera Announces POS-PHY Level 4 Support in APEX II Devices

San Jose, Calif., April 27, 2001-Altera Corporation (Nasdaq: ALTR), a leading programmable logic device (PLD) supplier, today announced support for POS-PHY Level 4 in its new APEX^TM II device family. The symmetric POS-PHY Level 4 interface handles leading-edge OC-192 (10 Gbps) data rates for next-generation Packet-over-SONET (POS) internet traffic, Ethernet, as well as ATM applications.

POS-PHY Level 4 was developed by the SATURN^® Development Group and defines an industry-wide standard for 10 Gbps multi-service system interfaces. This standard was adopted by the Optical Internetworking Forum as SPI-4 Phase 2 (System Packet Interface Level 4 Phase II). POS-PHY Level- 4 has also been submitted to the ATM Forum as Frame Based Interface Level 4, and is pending final approval.

"From definition to implementation, Altera has worked closely with PMC-Sierra to ensure support for POS-PHY Level 4," said Bill Richardson, director of business partnerships at PMC-Sierra. "Altera is a natural partner to interface with our 10 Gbps devices through POS-PHY Level 4, as well as an ideal platform for creative bridging applications, for instance from POS-PHY Level 4 to POS-PHY Level 3."

Benchmarks run in Altera's APEX 20K architecture clearly demonstrate support for OC-192 data rates. With the advances made in the new APEX II device family, a 128-bit wide CRC-32 executes in excess of 120 Mhz, well over the 100 Mhz required for POS-PHY Level 4 implementation.

"We have seen tremendous demand from customers who want to use Altera's industry-leading True-LVDS^TM buffers to implement POS-PHY Level 4," said Justin Cowling, Altera senior IP marketing manager. "Through our close relationship with PMC-Sierra, Altera will release a parameterizable POS-PHY4 MegaCore^® solution, demonstratable in production silicon, to further accelerate customers' time-to-market."

With Altera's APEX II device family, telecom/datacom designers can build OC-192 systems while leveraging the traditional time-to-market and flexibility benefits of PLDs. "We have customers constantly pushing the limits of telecom/datacom design. The APEX II device family stretches those limits," added Cowling.

About PMC-Sierra

PMC-Sierra's extensive family of broadband communication semiconductors is enabling the equipment that makes up the backbone of the Internet. PMC-Sierra develops Internet Protocol (IP), ATM, SONET/SDH, T1/E1, T3/E3, Packet-over-SONET, Voice-over-Packet, wireless infrastructure, MIPS^® microprocessor, and Gigabit Ethernet solutions for wide area network (WAN), and Internet networking equipment. The company's quality system is registered with the Quality Management Institute to the ISO 9001 standard. As co-founder of the SATURN^® Development Group, PMC-Sierra works with over 30 other member companies to define and develop interoperable, standard-compliant solutions for high speed networking applications. For more information about PMC-Sierra, visit http://www.pmc-sierra.com.

About Altera

Altera Corporation, The Programmable Solutions Company^®, was founded in 1983 and is a leading supplier of programmable logic devices (PLDs). Altera's CMOS-based PLDs are user-programmable semiconductor chips that enhance flexibility and reduce time-to-market for companies in the communications, computer peripheral, and industrial markets. By using high performance devices, software development tools, and sophisticated intellectual property cores, system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions can be created with embedded processors, memory, and other complex logic together on a single PLD. Altera common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ALTR. More information on Altera is available on the Internet at http://www.altera.com.

Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, APEX, True-LVDS, MegaCore, and specific device designations are trademarks and/or service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.