``Partnering with Actel was an easy choice for Ipsil. Actel's solutions allow us to provide our customers with the form factors, performance and intellectual property customization that their designs require,'' said Velu Sinha, CEO of Ipsil. ``The breadth of Actel's solutions, including industrial and radiation-hardened parts, enable us to address an even broader range of markets.''

Ipsil chose Actel FPGAs over application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) not only for the time-to-market benefits generally associated with FPGAs, but also for the security Actel's single-chip antifuse devices provide. Ipsil's IPMicro8932 also requires low power not typically associated with complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs).

``Increasingly, our customers are leveraging the benefits of our eX FPGAs due to the tremendous gain in performance and reductions in cost and power compared to competitive offerings such as CPLDs and ASICs,'' said Barry Marsh, vice president, product marketing at Actel. ``Over the past decade, Actel has developed programmable logic solutions to meet designers' interfacing requirements. We believe that drop-in intellectual property products such as Ipsil's compact network controllers will provide our customers with the solutions they require to meet the challenges associated with an ever-increasing number of interface protocols.''

The IPMicro8932 chip is a single-chip enhanced TCP controller with SlipNet(TM) and a 10BaseT Ethernet interface in a 64-pin package. The chip uses Ipsil's patent-pending integrated FlowStack(TM) TCP/user-datagram protocol (UDP)/Internet protocol (IP) technology. The IPMicro8932 has 32 I/O bits and supports a 4MB External Flash RAM user-programmable Web Content File System. Beta versions of the solution are available with general availability for the component targeted for fourth quarter 2001.

The eX family of FPGAs is a low-cost solution for low-power, high-performance designs. The inherent low-power attributes of antifuse technology, coupled with an additional low static power mode, make these devices ideal for power-sensitive applications. Actel's eX family of FPGAs enables designers to use single-chip programmable logic for their traditionally low-density ASIC requirements, eliminating the long lead times and costly non-recurring engineering charges.

About Ipsil

Ipsil provides compact Internet controller-on-a-chip technology designed to network-enable a broad range of devices such as sensors, monitors, meters, iSCSI devices, and VoIP handsets. Ipsil's standards-compliant technology makes pervasive connectivity a reality by allowing device manufacturers to easily and cost effectively add connectivity to devices that were previously cost-prohibitive to network. Ipsil's solutions are also available as VHDL/standard cell designs for custom applications. In addition to general-purpose devices, Ipsil offers a series of specialized solutions for industries including industrial controls, telecommunications, utilities/energy, medical and networking -- enabling customers to Connect Absolutely Everything(TM). Ipsil is a privately held company with offices in Boston, Massachusetts and Washington, DC. For more information, please visit www.ipsil.com.

About Actel

Actel Corporation is a supplier of innovative programmable logic solutions, including field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) based on antifuse and flash technologies and embedded-programmable gate arrays (EPGAs) based on SRAM technology, as well as high-performance intellectual property (IP) cores, software development tools and design services. Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Actel employs approximately 500 people worldwide. The Company is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ACTL and is located at 955 East Arques Avenue, Sunnyvale, California, 94086-4533. Telephone: 888-99-ACTEL (992-2835). Internet: http://www.actel.com .

NOTE: The Actel name and logo are registered trademarks of Actel Corporation. Ipsil, FlowStack and Connect Absolutely Everything are trademarks of Ipsil Incorporated. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.