Xignal Technologies removes cost barriers with first in industry virtual IC partnership program

New Program Substantially Reduces Upfront Licensing Fees

Munich, Germany, February 16, 2004 - Xignal Technologies AG, a leading analog IP solutions provider for the communications semiconductor industry, today announced its new Virtual Integrated Circuit (VIC) partnership program. The program, the first of its kind in the analog and mixed signal IP industry, significantly reduces upfront licensing fees and shares the market risks with the customer.

In this model, Xignal will undertake the entire development of a complete IC which is jointly defined with the customer. Xignal's VIC program is unique in that it combines Xignal's technology with the customer's sales channels and market access. It relieves customer design and resource constraints while minimizing the customer's upfront financial commitment.

"Xignal is well known for delivering highly-sophisticated analog IP designs," said Al Gharakhanian, Vice President of Business Development at Xignal. "Now with the Virtual IC program, Xignal enables more customers to benefit from its analog/mixed signal expertise."

Xignal's VIC program is ideal for semiconductor companies, broadband equipment vendors needing highly integrated analog chips and ASIC vendors. Xignal is well equipped to adapt to the development and manufacturing environment of its customers.

Solutions from Xignal are typically highly complex analog and mixed-signal sub-systems intended for system-on-chip (SoC) integration or standalone products. VDSL front ends and 10G transceivers are prime examples. In addition, Xignal has access to a rich library of basic building blocks such as PLLs, VCOs, ADCs, DACs, amplifiers, high speed I/Os, SerDes and Clock/Data Recovery.

Xignal's unique CMOS-based designs are easily integrated to deliver the right technology to support a number of applications for the communication systems market, including digital subscriber line (DSL), 10G Ethernet, 10G Fibre Channel, SONET/SDH and multi-gigabit copper connections in backplane, shelf-to-shelf and rack-to-rack systems.

About Xignal Technologies AG
Xignal Technologies is a leading analog IP solutions provider that creates innovative, cutting-edge analog solutions for advancing the design and manufacturing of communication systems ICs. With a focus on high-growth market segments, Xignal's intellectual property technology shortens design cycles, reduces costs and reduces time-to-market. The Xignal Technologies headquarters are located at Leipziger Strasse 16, D-82008 Unterhaching, Munich, Germany. Additional information is available at www.xignal.com