Conexant Increases Manufacturing Capacity Five-Fold for Wireless Communications and Optical Networking Products

Company Solidifies Position As The World s Largest Independent Merchant Market Supplier Of Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) Semiconductor Products

Newport Beach, CA. Conexant Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:CNXT) Monday announced that it has completed a major expansion of its gallium arsenide (GaAs) manufacturing facilities in Newbury Park, Calif., in support of its two fastest-growing divisions, wireless communications and network access. The expansion has increased capacity to a record 75,000 four-inch wafer starts per year, as compared with 15,000 annual wafer starts just one year ago. Conexant invested approximately $80 million in capital equipment to achieve this five-fold increase in capacity.

Conexant will further increase GaAs manufacturing capacity to 95,000 four-inch equivalent wafer starts annually by the end of this calendar year. Additionally, the new manufacturing equipment that Conexant has installed in its expanded facilities can be upgraded to process six-inch wafers. This conversion would increase available capacity to approximately 210,000 four-inch equivalent wafer starts annually.

Conexant will use the majority of its expanded capacity to manufacture GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) power amplifiers for the rapidly growing, digital cellular handset marketplace addressed by its Wireless Communications Division.

GaAs HBT is the technology of choice for power amplifiers because of its ability to maximize a digital cellular handset s power efficiency and handset battery life. Conexant s power amplifiers support industry standards for code division multiple access (CDMA), global system for mobile communications (GSM), and time division multiple access (TDMA) digital cellular handsets. They also provide the enhanced performance and power efficiency that will be required for future wideband CDMA standards and for third-generation (3G) wireless voice and data deployment.

"The market for digital cellular handsets is forecasted to continue its growth at greater than 50 percent annually for the next several years," said Moiz Beguwala, senior vice president and general manager for Conexant s Wireless Communications Division. "This expansion gives us the capacity to increase our global market share and solidifies our position as the world s largest independent merchant market supplier of GaAs semiconductor products." Conexant will also use the expanded capacity to manufacture GaAs-HBT-based transceivers for optical communications, addressed by its Network Access Division.

"We are seeing explosive demand with growth rates greater than 100 percent annually for high-speed networking front-end transceivers in the fiber-optic backbone of today s multi-service communications networks," said Raouf Halim, senior vice president and general manager of the company s Network Access Division. "The expanded capacity will help satisfy the demand for these products, which are at the core of today s rapidly expanding Internet and telephony infrastructure."

About Conexant Systems

With revenues of approximately $1.5 billion, Conexant is the world s largest independent company focused exclusively on providing semiconductor solutions for communications electronics. With more than 30 years of experience in developing communications technology, the company draws upon its expertise in mixed-signal processing to deliver integrated systems and semiconductor products for a broad range of communications applications.

These products facilitate communications worldwide through wireline voice and data communications networks, cordless and cellular wireless telephony systems, personal imaging devices and equipment, and emerging cable and wireless broadband communications networks.

The company aligns its business into five product platforms: Network Access, Wireless Communications, Digital Infotainment, Personal Imaging and Personal Computing. Conexant is a member of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 Indices. For more information, visit Conexant at www.conexant.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains statements relating to future results of the company (including certain projections and business trends) that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: global and market conditions, including, but not limited to, the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry and the markets addressed by the company s and its customers products; demand for and market acceptance of new and existing products; successful development of new products; the timing of new product introductions; the availability and extent of utilization of manufacturing capacity; pricing pressures and other competitive factors; changes in product mix; fluctuations in manufacturing yields; product obsolescence; the ability to develop and implement new technologies and to obtain protection for the related intellectual property; the successful implementation of the company s diversification strategy; labor relations of the company, its customers and suppliers; and the uncertainties of litigation, as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in the company s Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Other brands and names contained in this release are the property of their respective owners.

Contact:
Conexant Systems Inc.
Scott Allen, 949/483-6849
scott.allen@conexant.com
or
Benjamin Group/BSMG Worldwide
Heather McLaughlin, 714/245-7500
heather_mclaughlin@benjamingroup.com