ALLENTOWN, Pa. and ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Agere Systems Inc. (NYSE: AGR.A), the world leader in communications components, and Future Software, a leading provider of communications software source code products and services, today announced an agreement to integrate Future Software's comprehensive networking software suite with Agere's PayloadPlus network processor family into a single platform for advanced switch and router equipment. The platform, which incorporates the latest industry-standard networking protocols and software, will significantly reduce system development time in some cases from years to months. The companies announced the agreement at Networld+Interop in Las Vegas, Nev. this week. "Future Software's comprehensive offerings and experience are an ideal complement to Agere's family of PayloadPlus network processors and switch fabric products," said Mark Pinto, vice president of Agere's processing, aggregation and switching division. "By jointly leveraging our expertise in our respective areas, Agere and Future together will provide customers with powerful, integrated network processor-based solutions that meet the growing need for diverse networking and telecommunications applications. Customers will now be able to choose from a variety of operating system-independent networking protocols and high-performance network processing components from an established supplier." Agere Systems Future Software Ltd.