US : Agere Systems announced its second multimillion unit agreement with Samsung to supply wireless data chipsets and software for use in Samsung's new generation of advanced mobile phones. Under the new agreement, which is valued at approximately $200 million and runs through calendar year 2004, Samsung will develop a broad portfolio of mobile phones incorporating Agere's chipsets and software based on General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technologies.

Samsung's GPRS and EDGE-enabled phones offer features that meet the demands of today's sophisticated mobile users, including high-speed Internet access, digital photo imaging, video downloading, high-resolution color LCD displays, polyphonic sound and Java-enabled video games. Samsung is ranked No. 3 in global mobile phone sales* and is currently deploying these new phones worldwide.

As a result of this latest supply agreement, Agere will provide a wide range of chipsets and software to Samsung, positioning itself to continue as the phone maker's primary GPRS and EDGE solutions provider. Samsung currently uses Agere chipsets and software in its P, S and V series phones, which are high-performance, fully featured GPRS mobile phones.

Going forward, Samsung will incorporate chipsets and software from Agere in upcoming models of GPRS and EDGE mobile phones for its D, E, P, S, V and X series phones.

GPRS mobile phones are based on the Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications standard, which is used in nearly 70 percent of the world's wireless phones. GPRS is a global technology that has enabled the widespread adoption of high-speed wireless data applications and mobile data services that are generating new revenue streams for wireless operators. These services include real-time audio and video streaming, digital photo imaging, MP3 music capabilities, MPEG4 video playback and interactive games.

As an evolutionary upgrade to existing GPRS networks, EDGE will pave the way for the introduction of a new generation of advanced 3G/GSM services.

Leveraging today's widespread GPRS network deployment to quickly provide higher-speed data services, operators are installing EDGE infrastructure over existing GSM/GPRS network footprints as a simple, cost-effective upgrade for network capacity.

"We are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to expand our relationship with Samsung, one of the pre-eminent forces in the mobile phone industry," said Luc Seraphin, vice president of Agere's Mobile Terminals division. "Our GPRS and EDGE solutions are designed to provide the flexibility and scalability that customers like Samsung are demanding as they look to quickly introduce full-featured, multimedia mobile phones."

The company noted that revenues from this agreement were included in the company's guidance provided on January 27, 2004.
Agere Systems is a premier provider of advanced integrated circuit solutions for wireless data, high-density storage and multiservice networking applications. Agere's wireless data portfolio enables seamless network access and Internet connectivity through its GPRS offering for data-capable cellular phones, as well as Wi-Fi/802.11 solutions for wireless LANs and computing applications. The company is the market leader in providing integrated circuits for the hard disk drive market, with number one positions in sales of system-on-a-chip solutions and preamplifiers. Agere also provides custom and standard multiservice networking solutions to move information across wired, wireless and enterprise networks. Agere's customers include the leading PC manufacturers, wireless terminal providers, network equipment suppliers and hard-disk drive providers.