Agere Teams With HCL

ALLENTOWN, Pa. –- Agere Systems (NYSE: AGR.A, AGR.B) today announced a double play of software and service initiatives involving its networkprocessor chips. The company is launching a new software package andunveiling a service agreement with HCL Technologies to help enable telecom equipment manufacturers to deliver their products to market one to two years faster and save millions of dollars in product development costs.

As a result, manufacturers of digital subscriber line access multiplexers (DSLAMs), third-generation (3G) wireless base stations, and multi-service access nodes (MSANs) can focus more of their efforts on developing revenue-generating, customized features of their products.

The first play is Agere’s unveiling of the first of a series of the company’s new software offering that runs on its network processors, such as the PayloadPlus® APP550, targeted at a broad range of multiservice networking applications. Equipment manufacturers can quickly and easily use Agere’s new, simplified Functional Programming Interface (FPI) software platform. By doing so, they avoid spending large amounts of time and money developing several hundred thousand lines of software code they otherwise would have had to, using other companies’ network processor solutions. Agere’s improved FPI software features a comprehensive suite of protocols and services for target applications. In addition, the software facilitates quick addition of revenue-generating, differentiating features with relatively small, localized changes in code.

Agere’s second play consists of an agreement with India-based HCL Technologies, Ltd., a leader in providing cost-effective software and system integration services to the telecom industry. Through this agreement, dedicated teams from HCL are working closely with Agere on the FPI software and provide customization and system integration services to Agere’s customers. This collaboration allows equipment manufacturers to focus on creating differentiating, higher revenue-generating equipment features in their products.

HCL has a sizable development team of engineers dedicated to working with Agere’s team developing and validating FPI software for Agere’s network processors. The HCL team will also provide complementary customization and system integration services through zero-learning-curve resources to augment development teams of equipment manufacturers using Agere network processors and software.

“Excelling in software ease of modification, simplicity, flexibility, as well as delivering outstanding network processor hardware performance, has never been more crucial to thrive in the network processor market,” said Allen Nogee, analyst with Arizona-based In-Stat. “By offering tangible benefits to its customers via this HCL agreement, and by releasing its own new software, Agere not only saves development costs for equipment makers, but also opens many new revenue streams for equipment makers.”

Agere Systems Inc.