HSINCHU, Taiwan, August 5, 2003 - ZyDAS, a fabless IC design house that focuses on emerging communications technologies and UMC, a world leading semiconductor foundry (NYSE: UMC), today announced that UMC is manufacturing ZyDAS' newly released ZD1202, an 802.11b fully compliant single-chip medium access controller (MAC) and baseband processor (BBP), on its 0.18-micron mixed-signal process technology. The chip is designed to meet users' high throughput, low-power and high-security requirements.

"A major challenge in today's wireless local area networks (WLANs) is how to handle the multipath impairment of wireless communication," noted Norman Hung, president of ZyDAS Technology. "ZyDAS has invented a multipath decoding technology that can realize the full advantage of 802.11b's complimentary code keying (CCK) even in the presence of severe multipath distortion. As a result of this invention, ZD1202 can enlarge the coverage area of 802.11b and work in environments where other 802.11b products would fail. Yet, the fabrication of this technology would not be possible without the assistance of a truly supportive semiconductor foundry. UMC has played an instrumental role in our success as it delivers leading process technology with the design support services to ensure high yields and first-silicon success."

John Hsuan, vice chairman of UMC, said, "The wireless market continues to be a high-growth area. As a result, UMC is committed to helping ensure that our customers are delivering products throughout the 802.11 market space that are truly competitive. We are pleased to partner with ZyDAS for the success of their ZD 1202, which underscores the positive results that UMC has seen through its partnership strategy. We look forward to cooperating with ZyDAS for their future wireless products."

ZyDAS's ZD1202 low-power chip consumes less than 5 ma or 16 mw in standby mode. It can also turn off its external oscillator and use a slower crystal in standby mode to save an additional 31 mw of oscillator power. To address the security concerns in wireless communication, the ZD1202 has been built to meet the latest WLAN security specifications, including Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP), and WiFi Protected Access (WPA). Also, the ZD1202 has an "in-house" 16.5 Mbps mode that can substitute the 11 Mbps mode of 802.11b without sacrificing its coverage area or transmission distance. The 16.5 Mbps mode works seamlessly with other 802.11b products and is turned on automatically when the ZD1202 detects that it is communicating with another ZD1202.

ZyDAS Technology Corp. is a fabless IC design house that focuses on emerging communication technologies. ZyDAS develops and markets solutions for Internet access and wireless communications. The current solution portfolio includes V.90/V.92 analog modem chips and WLAN standards compliant baseband processor and controller SoCs. ZyDAS Technology Corp. is a privately held company with office in Hsin-Chu Science-Based-Industrial-Park, Taiwan. For products and business opportunities information please email to sales@zydas.com.tw.

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry that manufactures advanced process ICs for applications spanning every major sector of the semiconductor industry. UMC delivers cutting-edge foundry technologies that enable sophisticated system-on-chip (SOC) designs, including 90nm copper, 0.13um copper, embedded DRAM, and mixed signal/RFCMOS. UMC is also a leader in 300mm manufacturing; Fab 12A in Taiwan is currently in volume production for a variety of customer products, while the Singapore-based UMCi will begin pilot production later this year. UMC employs over 8,500 people worldwide and has offices in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Europe, and the United States. UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com.