031216 Altera Becomes First FPGA Vendor to Meet OBSAI RP3 Interface Specification for Cellular Base Station Architecture

San Jose, Calif., December 16, 2003─Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) today announced that it is the first FPGA vendor to meet the Open Base Station Architecture Initiative’s (OBSAI) Reference Point 3 (RP3) interface specification. To meet OBSAI’s specification, Altera has developed a reference design demonstrating the integration of Link layer function, together with the PHY layer, within a single Stratix GX device. The Stratix GX product family provides up to 20 bidirectional Gbits/s serial transceivers and gives base station manufacturers the flexibility to address Macro, Micro, and Pico base station configurations. Additionally, with up to 40,000 logic elements available, the Stratix GX family allows for the ability to integrate various functions on the RF card such as DDC, DUC, and DPD all within a single device.

“We welcome this announcement from Altera of its support for the OBSAI radio-to-base band interface specification with an integrated PHY and Link layer solution for RP3,” said Mr. Jukka Klemettila, Chairperson of the OBSAI. . OBSAI aims to create an open market for cellular base stations. An open market will substantially reduce the development effort and costs that have been traditionally associated with creating new radio base stations.”
OBSAI has a growing membership of close to 70 industry leading telecommunications companies working together to define wireless base station specifications. The RP3 interface specification defines the way in which data and control information is to be exchanged between the base band and RF sections of the base station.

“Successfully meeting OBSAI’s RP3 specification helps to ensure that Altera provides world-class products for the next generation base stations,” said Arun Iyengar, director of Wireless Business Unit at Altera Corp. “The Stratix GX family delivers a complete solution for the mobile infrastructure industry, providing both flexibility and integration. In addition, Altera offers a seamless structured ASIC migration path with Hardcopy Stratix GX that can reduce costs by over 60 percent.”

About the Open Base Station Architecture Initiative
The Open Base Station Architecture Initiative (OBSAI) comprises close to 70 industry leading telecommunications companies. OBSAI has created a set of open specifications to define a modular wireless base station architecture and detailed specifications for the three main internal interfaces. The aim of this initiative is to create an open market for base station modules and components to reduce development effort and cost, improve time to market, and accelerate the implementation of new and advanced services. For more information, visit www.obsai.org.

About the Stratix GX Device Family
The Stratix GX family, Altera's second-generation embedded transceiver family, is based on a 0.13-micron process technology with 1.5-V core voltage. Stratix GX devices have up to 20 embedded 3.125-Gbps transceivers and up to 45 differential I/O pins with dedicated dynamic phase alignment (DPA) capability supporting up to 1-Gbps source-synchronous data transfers. For more information about the Stratix GX device family, visit www.altera.com/products/devices/stratixgx/sgx-index.jsp.

About Altera
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) is the world’s pioneer in system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions. Combining programmable logic technology with software tools, intellectual property, and technical services, Altera provides high-value programmable solutions to approximately 14,000 customers worldwide. More information is available at www.altera.com.

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