Press Release

Mini PCI v1.0 Officially Released to the Industry

PCI-SIG extends PCI form factor designs for integrated mobile communications

PORTLAND, Oregon - November 8, 1999 - The PCI Special Interest Group (PCI-SIG) announced today that version 1.0 of the Mini PCI specification was unanimously approved for release to the industry. The v1.0 release follows a standard 30-day member review period that included incorporation of comments by PCI-SIG members and final approval by all chartered work groups and the Steering Committee. With the release of Mini PCI, the PCI-SIG reinforces its leadership in the industry as well as the flexibility of the PCI standard to meet ever-changing and evolving industry needs.

The Mini PCI specification extends the PCI v2.2 standard and the functional equivalency of PCI expansion cards through three form factor definitions to address the various configurations of integrated communication peripherals such as modems and Network Interface Cards (NICs). With the advances of the Build-to-Order (BTO) and Configure-to-Order (CTO) business models, Mini PCI better enables these dynamic configurations. Mini PCI also brings together other PCI specifications such as Power Management and the Mobile Design Guide to leverage established, proven standards in new implementations.

"Mini PCI provides not only a more economical solution for OEMs and IT, but a more stable and sturdy solution as well," said Mike Bailey, Chairman of the PCI-SIG Steering Committee. "The industry now has a true standard for integrated communication design and implementation, and the ability to upgrade will ensure that mobile platforms are able to keep up with ever-advancing communications technologies."

Mini PCI is an example of how PCI technology has the flexibility to adapt to a new form factor while retaining all the benefits of the base PCI specification, allowing for rapid adoption utilizing the already established base of development tools and resources. With three form factor variations, Mini PCI answers both mobile computer design and business concerns in the expanding portable computing market. The variations target the different needs of the desktop replacement class (Type I), the economical, value-line class (Type II), and the thin line class (Type III) of mobile computers.

"Mini PCI brings implementation and ownership advantages for vendors and customers alike," said Mike Wolf, Senior Analyst at Cahners In-Stat. "With the industry's trend toward a more compact and mobile environment, we predict that Mini PCI will have an installed base of over 59 million by the year 2003."

About the PCI-SIG

Formed in June 1992, PCI-SIG is the industry organization that owns and manages the PCI Local Bus specification. More than 850 industry-leading companies are active PCI-SIG members. The organization is chartered to support new requirements while preserving backwards compatibility for all PCI revisions, maintaining the specification as an easy-to-implement, stable technology, and contributing to the technical longevity of PCI and its establishment as an industry-wide standard. For more information, contact PCI-SIG via phone at 800-433-5177 (within the U.S.) or fax at 503-693-8344, or visit the PCI-SIG Web site at http://www.pcisig.com.