TI Celebrates 20 Years as a Technology Innovator in India

TI’s Extends a History of Innovations with the First Mobile Phone Ever Built in India

BANGALORE, INDIA (August 8, 2005) – Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) [NYSE:TXN] is celebrating a major milestone in its history in India by marking the 20th anniversary of its development center in Bangalore. TI’s 20th anniversary in India complements TI’s celebration of its 75th anniversary as a company. TI was the first multinational to establish a software design center in India and has been a significant contributor in building India’s IT ecosystem. TI’s employees in India are continuing to deliver technology innovations that will have a profound and positive effect on bringing affordable communications and entertainment products to India and the worldwide market. Examples of these innovations include the first mobile phone ever built entirely in India, TI’s AR7 DSL modem on a single chip, digital signal processor (DSP)- based digital media processors and affordable motor control DSPs. Several of these innovative products are being designed today in 65 or 90 nanometer (nm) processes, which are the most advanced processes in the semiconductor industry and are only being utilized by a few companies.

TI’s Role in Advancing Cellular Technology in India

At a press event hosted today by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), TI Chairman Tom Engibous announced the first cell phone built from concept to design, entirely in India. Two GSM/GPRS handsets were demonstrated during the press event, one jointly developed by TI and India manufacturer BPL, and one developed as a collaboration between TI, Primus and Quasar. This mobile phone design will serve as a platform for development of a variety of handsets for different market segments, from ultra low-cost to mid-range voice- and data-centric handsets. The first phones based on the TI and BPL cooperation will be on the market in September 2005, and the Primus/Quasar phones will be in production later in 2005.

“TI India collaborated with BPL to create the first cell phones entirely designed and manufactured in India,” Engibous said. “They target the specific demands of the Indian market and are built around a TI chipset and reference design. These devices are a testament to India’s emerging high-tech manufacturing capabilities, which supplement the design and development expertise that has developed here over the years.”

Engibous also announced that he made a live phone call from India to Europe using the company’s new single-chip cell phone solution, which is based on TI’s DRPTM (Digital RF Processor) technology, and integrates the digital and analog functionality necessary for a working cell phone. Engibous made the phone call on a live cellular network, demonstrating the next step in TI’s mission to deliver a single-chip cell phone solution for ultra-low-cost handsets in emerging markets, such as India. The global team for this cell phone solution involved many TI development centers across the world including design and software engineers in Bangalore.

TI India Innovates Beyond Cellular

The first cell phone ever built in India and the single-chip cell phone solution for low-cost handsets are the latest in a long list of innovations that have involved teams of engineers from India. In 1996, TI developed the first DSP designed in India for automotive and affordable motor control. Other innovations resulting from global teams which involved engineers from TI India include:

• TI’s AR7 DSL modem on a chip, which was the first product in the AR7 family of DSL routers that includes the AR7VWi, a DSL residential gateway platform with integrated Wi-Fi and VoIP functionality for affordable broadband access and home networking.
TI’s TMS320DM642 DSP-based digital media processor for video over IP, video-on-demand (VOD), multi-channel digital video recording applications and high-quality video encoding and decoding applications.

These innovative products, along with many others, have resulted in close to 300 patent applications being filed from engineers in TI’s Bangalore development center – the most filed from any technology company in India (source: Dataquest July 2005). These products provide a range of high-performance and ultra-low power in a variety of applications such as wireless infrastructure, wireless handsets, broadband and home networking systems, portable media players, automotive, embedded control and medical imaging.

TI’s close integration with the Indian high tech community has also been instrumental in building the IT and VLSI design ecosystem that is in place today in India. TI has created an extended network of more than 50 DSP third party developers who build products based upon the company’s DSP platforms. These third party products ship around the world and are used in wireless, broadband, audio, video, control and multimedia applications. TI’s University program in India impacts 10,000 students a year in more than 400 universities and colleges across India.

“As amazing as the past has been, the TI India family is reaching for an even more incredible future in India and around the world. We hope that, together with our customers, TI can equip residents of India and other booming regions with affordable wireless handsets, broadband and consumer electronics that will connect them to the world and narrows the ‘digital divide’ that exists in many emerging markets from India to China to South America,” said Dr. Biswadip (Bobby) Mitra, Texas Instruments India (Pvt) Ltd. managing director. “We’re not just making dreams possible. We’re making them practical. We’ve been doing that for 75 years around the world, 20 years in India, and plan on continuing this momentum for the next 20 years and well into the future.”

About Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments Incorporated provides innovative DSP and analog technologies to meet our customers' real world signal processing requirements. In addition to Semiconductor, the company includes the Educational & Productivity Solutions business. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than 25 countries.

Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web

Trademarks: DRP is a trademark of Texas Instruments. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.