April 17, 2001 — ALLENTOWN, PA — Agere Systems and RF Micro Devices Inc have formed a strategic alliance to develop, design and manufacture chips for next generation cell phones and other communications products.

Under the deal, RF will spend $58 million over two years to upgrade cleanroom space and purchase semiconductor manufacturing equipment which will be used in Agere’s Orlando, Florida facility. Production from the new equipment will first be allocated to RF and then to Agere. The two companies will work on a “radio frequency”-class chip, which amplifies and processes signals from wireless devices.

“Working with RF Micro Devices, a leader in RF chip technology, gives us the opportunity to further advance our silicon germanium technology and develop more highly integrated wireless chips with better performance and lower power consumption,” said Greg Waters, vice president of Wireless Business at Agere. “Together, the two companies will work to accelerate the delivery of key semiconductors required for the deployment of next generation wireless multimedia services on public and private networks, and lower the overall cost of complete wireless component solutions to our customers.”

The two companies will also create and staff an RF center of excellence for RF chip process technology and design methodology.