AGERE SYSTEMS, LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES REDUCE THE PRICE OF ORINOCO WIRELESS
NETWORKING SYSTEMS
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2001
ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Lucent Technologies and Agere Systems, the former Lucent
Technologies (NYSE: LU) Microelectronics Group, today announced a price
reduction for Lucent-branded ORiNOCO PC cards. The ORiNOCO World Silver PC
Card with 64-bit WEP encryption now carries a Manufacturer’s Suggested
Retail Price (MSRP) of only $149, while the high-security, 128-bit ORiNOCO
World Gold PC Card is now $169 MSRP.
ORiNOCO systems enable consumers to use wireless networks in the home,
small home offices, corporate and enterprise environments, as well as
public areas such as airports and convention centers. The ORiNOCO wireless
networking system operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency band, features a data
rate of 11 Mbit/s, and has a range of up to 1,750 feet.
Lucent’s line of wireless local area network solutions now reside with
Agere Systems, which will be spun-off from Lucent as a separate company
later this year. Along with integrated circuits and optoelectronic
components, Agere will continue developing solutions for the wireless
networking and mobile broadband access market with its line of ORiNOCO
products. Lucent and Agere have an agreement that enables Lucent to
continue selling ORiNOCO PC Cards, infrastructure products, and other
wireless networking solutions to service provider customers under the
Lucent Technologies brand.
ORiNOCO is Wi-Fi compliant, making it compatible with other wireless
networking systems from companies such as Apple Computer, Dell Computer
Corporation, IBM, Toshiba, and Sony. ORiNOCO World PC cards support a wide
range of operating systems including Windows 95, 98, ME, NT and 2000,
Windows CE, Linux, and Apple OS.
Consumers want and need wireless networking for their homes, businesses and
while traveling,” said Andy Seybold, partner, Andrew Seybold Group, LLC.
“Lucent and Agere’s new prices will make it a lot easier for individuals
and businesses to adopt wireless networking systems.”
“The broad scale adoption of wireless technology throughout the home and
office is resulting in decreases in manufacturing costs, which enables us
to provide lower prices to end users,” said Peter van der Salm, product
manager for ORiNOCO at Agere. “Affordability, along with ease of use, will
help to make wireless networking as pervasive as cellular phones in the
future.”
Agere Systems is a leading global supplier of wireless local area
networking systems. ORiNOCO products are available on-line through several
e-commerce sites and in solutions delivered by value-added resellers (VARs)
and leading suppliers to the enterprise and server provider markets. A
number of leading PC OEMs also market Agere-developed ORiNOCO solutions.
More information about Agere’s Orinoco products is available at
http://www.orinocowireless.com.
Agere Systems Inc., formerly known as the Microelectronics Group of Lucent
Technologies, is the world leader in semiconductors for communications
applications. Lucent has announced it intends to spin off Agere Systems as
an independent company. Agere Systems offers integrated optoelectronics and
integrated circuits solutions to help customers reduce the time and expense
of developing new communications equipment. It also provides wireless
computer networking solutions through its ORiNOCO product line. More
information about Agere Systems is available from its Web site at
http://www.agere.com.
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 broadband and mobile 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.