LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES EXPANDS OPTOELECTRONIC COMPONENT FACILITIES IN PENNSYLVANIA, TEXAS AND MEXICO

Source: Lucent Technologies

Investment of $65 million expected to create some 750 jobs

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) Microelectronics Group, the world leader in communications semiconductors, today announced $65 million in expansions to office, laboratory and manufacturing facilities to meet customer demand for components used in high-speed optical communications networking systems. These new expansions in Breinigsville and Reading, Pa., Dallas, Texas, and Matamoros, Mexico, are expected to result in some 750 new jobs over the next three years.

"Our expansions involve investments in facilities, semiconductor fabrication equipment, and assembly automation technology, as well as in developing a highly skilled workforce," said Chuck Mattera, vice president for worldwide device manufacturing and process development for the optoelectronics business in Lucent s Microelectronics Group. "This will help us meet increasing demand through more production capacity, higher product yield, and faster order fulfillment time."

On the Breinigsville, Pa., campus, the company has started building a new $28 million, 120,000-square-foot, three-story office and laboratory facility at its Optoelectronics Center. The company plans to take occupancy of the new building by late spring of 2001, to house some 400 professional and technical jobs it expects to add over the next three years. Plans are on the drawing board for a second, smaller (90,0000-square-foot) office building adjacent to the one now being constructed. At the same time, Lucent will outfit existing space with additional manufacturing capacity at a cost of about $14 million.

Meanwhile, Lucent has leased 125,000 square feet of space elsewhere in Upper Macungie Township. The company will use the leased space to house manufacturing for fiber amplifiers. This project will result in about 250 new manufacturing jobs over the next three years. Lucent s investment in this facility is $11 million.

In Reading, over the next 18 months to two years, Lucent will convert 30,000 square feet of office and laboratory space to manufacturing space to accommodate expanded laser manufacturing operations. The company has already started work on the first 10,000 square feet. The company will invest $7 million on this project, and expects to add about 100 manufacturing jobs.

At its fabrication facility in Dallas, Lucent has finished building an additional 16,000 square feet of space, next to an existing 11,000 square-foot facility that Lucent acquired when it purchased Herrmann Technology earlier this year. Lucent will continue to build dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) thin-film filters in the new space, which will house new coating chambers and support equipment. The new structure will also house an expanded quality assurance and inspection facility, which will help double production capacity by May of 2001. Lucent also plans to acquire another 26,000 square feet of space in the same industrial park. Since Lucent s acquisition of Herrmann Technology, it has added 20 manufacturing and engineering people to its Dallas staff.

In Matamoros, Mexico, construction has begun on a new, build-to-lease 80,000-square-foot manufacturing facility about a mile from Lucent s current location. It is scheduled for completion by early December, and Lucent expects to occupy it during the first quarter of 2001. At this location, Lucent will manufacture transmitters, receivers, transponders and fiber amplifiers. The company s investment in the facility is about $5 million.

About Lucent Technologies

Lucent Technologies Microelectronics Group is the world leader in semiconductors for communications applications. Lucent has announced it will spin off the Microelectronics Group as an independent company that will include its optoelectronics and integrated circuits divisions. The spin-off, slated for completion by the end of summer of 2001, will create the only major standalone semiconductor company that can offer end-to-end networking solutions that address the convergence of photonics and electronics based on leadership in both integrated circuits and optoelectronic components. The new company will also provide wireless computer networking system solutions through its ORiNOCO (tm) product line. More information about the Microelectronics Group is available from its web site at http://www.lucent.com/micro.

Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, designs and delivers the systems, software, silicon and services for next-generation communications networks for service providers and enterprises. Backed by the research and development of Bell Labs, Lucent focuses on high-growth areas such as optical and wireless networks; Internet infrastructure; communications software; communications semiconductors and optoelectronics; Web-based enterprise solutions that link private and public networks; and professional network design and consulting services. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit its Web site at http://www.lucent.com.

Contact: Lori Higa 408-980-3860 (office) 415-731-5503 (home) higa@lucent.com

Carl Blesch 908-508-8412 (office) 908-306-0784 (home) cblesch@lucent.com