Freescale Teams with Wavesat on WiMAX Reference Platform for Business and Residential Gateways; WiMAX CPE Solution Combines Pow

Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE:FSL) (NYSE:FSL.B) and
Wavesat, a leading supplier of WiMAX chipsets, software and
development tools, are collaborating to deliver a comprehensive
reference platform solution for WiMAX-enabled customer premises
equipment (CPE). The two companies are demonstrating the WiMAX CPE
solution at the Freescale Technology Forum this week.
   "The combined WiMAX CPE reference platform from Freescale and
Wavesat is designed to enable a converged wired/wireless business and
residential gateway solution," said David Perkins, senior vice
president and general manager of Freescale's Networking and Computing
Systems Group. "With WiMAX gaining momentum around the world, turnkey
platform solutions like ours are what the market needs to drive rapid
deployment of broadband wireless technology in cost-effective CPE
products."
   According to In-Stat, the number of fixed WiMAX subscribers is
projected to reach 16 million by 2010, while mobile WiMAX subscribers
will range from 15 million to 25 million. "WiMAX (and WiBro) have
their place in the broadband world," says Norm Bogen, director of
networking at In-Stat. "All regions of the world are showing interest
in fixed wireless broadband. We believe that Asia will be the largest
market for WiMAX and WiBro, followed by Europe and then North America.
However, no single region is expected to dominate shipments and
subscribers."
   The WiMAX CPE solution combines Wavesat's award-winning WiMAX
chipsets, Mini-PCI design and CPE MAC software with Freescale's
turnkey reference boards. These boards are based on the MPC8349E and
MPC8323E PowerQUICC(TM) II Pro processors built on Power
Architecture(TM) technology. Optimized for business and residential
gateways, the integrated CPE solution supports WiMAX Forum
802.16d-2004 certification. It also is designed for upgradeability to
the IEEE(R) 802.16e-2005 standard for mobility in accordance with the
WiMAX Forum ETG profile.
   "Integrating our WiMAX Forum certified Mini-PCI and MAC software
with Freescale's PowerQUICC II Pro processor-based reference boards
will provide our combined customers with a high-performance and
flexible WiMAX CPE solution," said Michel Guay, president and CEO of
Wavesat. "Freescale sets high standards of performance, innovation and
quality for its products and platforms, and we look forward to
collaborating with Freescale on next-generation WiMAX reference
platforms."
   Forthcoming WiMAX platforms are planned to include next-generation
Wavesat chipsets and software and Freescale's PowerQUICC
communications processors, host processors and high-performance
multicore digital signal processors based on StarCore(R) technology.
   "We chose Wavesat's portfolio because it is the most complete and
powerful WiMAX Forum certified solution and features the only WiMAX
Mini-PCI on the market," said Nino Sampietro, managing director and
chief technology officer of Telsa. "The platform integration with
Freescale fits extremely well in our WiMAX product road map, enabling
operators to benefit from today's WiMAX solutions and evolve with the
ecosystem."
   A member of the WiMAX Forum, Freescale is a leading supplier of
high-power RF transistors optimized for the performance requirements
of WiMAX base stations. Freescale also has engaged with leading WiMAX
base station equipment makers, leveraging its scalable processors and
3.5 GHz RF power transistor portfolio.

   Freescale WiMAX CPE platforms

   Freescale's MPC8349E and MPC8323E PowerQUICC II Pro processor
families provide cost-effective, high-performance communications
processing solutions for SOHO and home networking applications,
including WiMAX-enabled residential gateways.
   The MPC8349E mITX reference board is available now. Targeting the
SOHO and small-to-medium business market, the reference board is
optimized for business gateways that deliver IP-centric services. It
features a 667MHz MPC8349E processor, a four-port USB 2.0 interface, a
10/100/1000 Ethernet port, a 5-port Gigabit Ethernet switch, an
on-board 4-port PCI serial advanced technology attachment (SATA)
controller, 32-bit PCI and MiniPCI slots, a two-port RS-232C interface
and a SATA hard drive. The board ships with Linux(R) 2.6.x with Samba
on Flash. Offered in the mini-ITX form factor, the reference board
makes it easy to design compact WiMAX CPE systems.
   Reference boards for the MPC8323E processor family are planned to
be available in early Q4 2006. The MPC8323E family features a
streamlined version of QUICC Engine(TM) technology containing a single
32-bit RISC engine optimized for residential and SOHO gateways. When
combined with Wavesat's Mini-PCI card and MAC software, the MPC8323E
reference boards are designed to offer a cost-effective, compact
solution for WiMAX-enabled residential gateways.

   Wavesat WiMAX solutions

   Wavesat is the first company to have received WiMAX Forum
certification for its CPE Design earlier this year. Wavesat's
award-winning WiMAX product portfolio is a complete and cost-effective
solution supporting all the necessary features to design base stations
and subscriber units for both licensed and license-exempt radio
frequencies. It consists of a full-range of standard-based integrated
circuits, software and development platforms supporting WiMAX
802.16-2004 certification and designed for forward compatibility with
802.16e-2005 for basic mobility. Featuring the industry's only WiMAX
Mini-PCI card and chosen by ODMs and OEMs worldwide, Wavesat's WiMAX
portfolio solution provides effective wireless connectivity for a wide
range of network sizes and coverage from urban to rural applications.

   Wavesat provides solutions for each WiMAX market segment:

   --  Backhaul to DSL extension with 802.16-2004 Fixed OFDM
        solutions

   --  High-speed connectivity for laptop mobility with 802.16e OFDM
        Evolutive(TM) products

   --  Full mobility with the upcoming 802.16e sOFDMA UMobile(TM)
        product portfolio for WiBro/WiMAX applications

   About Freescale Semiconductor

   Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE:FSL) (NYSE:FSL.B) is a global
leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for
the automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets.
Freescale became a publicly traded company in July 2004. The company
is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development,
manufacturing or sales operations in more than 30 countries.
Freescale, a member of the S&P 500(R), is one of the world's largest
semiconductor companies with 2005 sales of $5.8 billion (USD).

   www.freescale.com

   About Wavesat

   Founded in 1993, Wavesat Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company
focused on the development and supply of baseband chips, software and
development tools for WiMAX compliant systems. Wavesat is
headquartered in Montreal, Canada where it conducts research and
development activities. Wavesat is a privately held company. Key
investors include BDC Venture Capital, Monet Capital, Multiple Capital
Montreal, Pac-Link Management Corp., Skypoint Capital Corporation,
Solidarity Fund QFL and Sunsino Ventures Group.
   Wavesat is a principal member of the WiMAX Forum, a nonprofit
corporation formed to certify the compatibility and interoperability
of Broadband Wireless devices conforming to the 802.16 wireless MAN
and ETSI HiperMAN specifications and to help accelerate the
introduction of these devices into the marketplace. Please visit the
company's web site at www.wavesat.com.
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Semiconductor, Inc. 2006.