SOMERSET, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 2002--Multilink Technology Corporation (Nasdaq: MLTC), a leading provider of advanced semiconductor-based solutions that accelerate the deployment of high-speed optical networks, is proud to introduce its first compact 100 km optical transponder: the MTC21218. The MTC21218 features the latest series of Multilink small form factor, extremely low power, Ball Grid Array (BGA) products, including: the MTC5529 12.5 Gb/s Modulator Driver (MDR) and the MTC1235 10 Gb/s Multiplexer with integrated Clock Multiplier Unit (MUX-CMU) and MTC1236 Demultiplexer with integrated Clock and Data Recovery (CDR-DMUX) chipset. The integrated MDR and MUX-CMU/CDR-DMUX devices, provide the reach and bandwidth capacity required by system vendors and allows them to improve the performance of optical networking systems for overall system cost reductions. This transponder solution is suitable for strategic customer applications such as dense wavelength division multiplexer systems, metropolitan area networks, IP routers and ATM switches. "While our competitors are announcing they've managed to reach 80 km, Multilink is delivering solutions at 100 km with the highest sensitivity and best integrated products in the market today." stated Dr. Jens N. Albers, Executive Vice-President and Co-Chairman of Multilink. "By incorporating Multilink's low power, small form factor BGA products in the transponder module, customers are assured the highest performance, a smaller footprint and lower costs by extending the reach for metro and long-haul applications." Multilink Technology Corp.