"AMD is providing a complete home networking solution that turns standard telephone wiring into a powerful digital communications channel that enables home users to access data, peripherals, and the Internet from any phone outlet inside the home," said S. Atiq Raza, AMD co-chief operating officer and chief technical officer. "By simply plugging a PC into a phone outlet, users will now be able to simultaneously access a single printer and Internet connection, ending the need to have dedicated resources for every PC within a home. AMD plans to begin production shipments of the PCnet-Home device in December, with end-user products expected to be available during the first quarter of 1999."

Industry Support
With the announcement of the PCnet-Home controller, AMD adds another critical building block in the advancement of industry growth toward an inexpensive, easy-to-use home networking solution," said Mark A. Carpenter, Director, Communications and Home Connectivity, Compaq Computer Corporation.

The research firm Dataquest estimates more than 15 million homes in the U.S. currently have two or more PCs. This number is expected to reach 26 million by 2003. Jupiter Communications, another research firm, predicts an additional 15 million non-PC, Internet-access devices will be installed in U.S. homes by 2002. These users will require an inexpensive, simple way to distribute access to data, peripherals and the Internet to all of these digital devices within the home.

"As a single-chip solution, the PCnet-Home controller offers a powerful combination of hardware and software technologies that can easily be integrated into an affordable networking solution for the home," said Jim Cady, vice president and general manager of Diamond Multimedia's Communications Division. "As part of our home networking strategy, we plan to introduce a phoneline-based solution, utilizing the PCnet-Home device, that will be marketed under our HomeFree brand of networking products."

PCnet-Home Device Enables Home Networks
The PCnet-Home controller is the industry's first single-chip home networking silicon device that includes all of the hardware and software required for PC or peripheral manufacturers to quickly bring to market inexpensive phoneline networking devices based on the widely-endorsed technology specification of the Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HomePNA).

Benefits of a home network:

• Internet sharing enables one PC to act as an Internet gateway, allowing every other computer in the home to access the Internet through a single connection.
• Peripheral and file sharing allows all of the computers in the home to access common resources. Users will now be able to print from any connected computer in the home.
• Multi-player gaming lets two users play against one another from across the hall or across the house.

PCnet-Home Features
The PCnet-Home single-chip device integrates an Ethernet controller based on AMD's AM79C971 PCnet-FAST Ethernet controller, a physical layer (PHY) device supporting the 802.3 standard for 10BASE-T, and a HomePNA-compliant PHY device supporting 1 Mbps data transfer over standard telephone wiring. The device is ideally suited for PC motherboard and network interface card applications, and includes AMD's 1/10 Mbps auto-negotiation technology that allows platform designers and peripheral manufacturers to create a device capable of supporting both HomePNA and Ethernet networks.

Features supported by the PCnet-Home controller include automatic node detection, plug-and-play installation capabilities, an Internet activity log, customizable management utilities, and an Internet cache that can increase web browsing performance. Additional software support includes AMD's innovative any1Home™ technology that simplifies network management by indicating when a valid node has been detected. The any1Home packet technology uses minimal network resources to detect a network failure, allowing upper layer protocols to take action and correct potential conflicts that may compromise network performance.

Price and Availability
AMD expects to begin production shipments of the PCnet-Home controller in December. It will be available in a 160-pin PQFP package. The PCnet-Home device will cost $14.92 in 10,000 unit quantities.

Cautionary Statement
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including the timely development and market acceptance of new products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the effect of changing economic conditions, and such risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the company's SEC reports.

About the Home Phoneline Networking Alliance
The Home Phoneline Networking Alliance is an incorporated, non-profit association of industry-leading companies working together to help ensure adoption of a single, unified phoneline networking industry standard and rapidly bring to market a range of interoperable home networking solutions.