HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 1996--Standard Microsystems Corp. (SMC), (NASDAQ:SMSC), an industry leader in the Ethernet and Fast Ethernet adapter, hub and switching markets, announced Monday that it has been granted United States Patent Number 5,544,323, which covers technology that the company believes is essential to implementing Fast Ethernet 100BASE-T4 networks.

SMC has been a primary contributor and driver of Fast Ethernet technology. It was SMC that first presented the concept of 100BASE-T4 to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.3 Ethernet working group. This technology enables delivery of 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet through the vast installed base of low-cost voice-grade wire currently used for 10 Mbps Ethernet. The patent awarded to SMC describes the technology that was ultimately selected as the best method by the IEEE. This signaling method, which uses three wire pairs to transmit and receive data, and a fourth wire pair for collision detection, is included in the IEEE's Fast Ethernet standard.

SMC uses this technology in its recently introduced TigerStack(TM) 100 family of Fast Ethernet hubs and EtherPower 10/100(TM) Fast Ethernet adapter cards. The company is committed to the deployment and proliferation of 100BASE-T4 technology, which will provide virtually every existing 10 Mbps Ethernet network with an effective and efficient upgrade path to 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet. "SMC stands firmly by its promise to make 100BASE-T4 licenses available to the entire industry at a reasonable cost and on a non-discriminatory basis," stated George Houseweart, SMC's vice president of Law and Intellectual Property.

Standard Microsystems Corp., with headquarters in Hauppauge, is a leading worldwide supplier of MOS/VLSI circuits and systems for the personal computer industry.

SMC's System Products Division provides a broad range of networking solutions for scaling, managing and connecting LANs. Its products include network adapters, hubs, switches and network management software. The Division has an installed base of over 12 million nodes. SMC uses internally developed integrated circuits to achieve lower costs and to enhance product performance.

SMC's Component Products Division supplies MOS/VLSI circuits for personal computers and embedded control systems. These include input/output devices for disk drive control, communications interface, power management and other PC motherboard functions, Ethernet and Fast Ethernet controllers for LAN applications and ARCNET controllers for embedded networking applications. -0- SMC and Standard Microsystems are registered trademarks of Standard Microsystems Corp. Other products and company names are trademarks of their respective holders.

CONTACT: Standard Microsystems Corp., Hauppauge

John Tweedy, Director/Corporate Communications

516/434-4630