Alcatel, Altera Announce Alliance

SAN JOSE, Calif., and CALABASAS, Calif. -- Altera Corporation (Nasdaq:ALTR), a leading supplier of programmable logic devices (PLDs), and Alcatel(Paris : CGEP.PA and NYSE : ALA), today announced they have teamed toprovide intellectual property (IP) cores to enable faster development ofGigabit Ethernet application products.Alcatel's Gigabit Ethernet MAC is developed for high performancecommunication applications such as hubs, routers and switches. In joiningAltera's Megafunction Partners Program (AMPP), a program that delivers"best-in-class” IP cores from third party IP suppliers, Alcatel hasdeveloped a programmable logic-optimized Gigabit Ethernet MAC for Altera'shigh density, high performance APEX(TM) PLD architecture. Altera selectedAlcatel's Gigabit Ethernet MAC design for its ability to meet thechallenging 125 MHz timing requirements of the Gigabit Ethernet standard.

"We are pleased that Alcatel has joined the AMPP program and are equallyexcited that the company's Gigabit Ethernet cores are now available toAltera customers,” said Craig Lytle, vice president of Altera'sintellectual property business unit. "Alcatel's Gigabit Ethernet mediaaccess controller will allow customers to leverage the high performance ofthe APEX devices to achieve high system throughput.”

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