US : Spectra Licensing Group announced that France Telecom, a world-leading communications carrier and innovator through its research and development group, and Freescale Semiconductors, a leading provider of semiconductor solutions worldwide, have entered into a fee-bearing patent license agreement under France Telecom's Turbo Code Licensing Program.

Under terms of the agreement France Telecom has granted Freescale a worldwide license to France Telecom's seminal Turbo Code patents for use in Freescale's third-generation (3G) wireless communications products.

Invented by Claude Berrou and Alain Glavieux of Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications (ENST) in Brittany, France, Turbo Codes have been adopted by both the 3GPP (UMTS/W-CDMA) and 3GPP2 (CDMA2000) standards to enable higher network data capacity in CDMA systems enabling broadband services. With increases in network capacity and power efficiencies close to the theoretical "Shannon limit," the theoretical limit predicted by mathematician Claude Shannon, Turbo Codes are a revolutionary form of forward error correction, one of the fundamental building blocks of any type of digital communication.

"We are pleased to license a leader in wireless communications such as Freescale," said Erik Johnson, Director of Sales and Marketing for Spectra Licensing Group. "This agreement represents a significant step in the evolution of the Turbo Code Licensing Program and our ability to work with manufacturers developing Turbo Codes in DSP and ASIC solutions for the 3G market."

About Spectra Licensing Group, LLC

Spectra Licensing Group, LLC, with offices in Rancho Bernardo, Calif., is the worldwide licensing agent for France Telecom's Turbo Code Licensing Program. Spectra Licensing enables access to Turbo Code licensing for communications product developers and vendors. By facilitating the licensing efforts of France Telecom and prospective licensees, Spectra Licensing provides a single source for Turbo Code licensing. For more information on Spectra Licensing Group and the Turbo Code Licensing Program, visit http://www.spectralicensing.com

About Freescale Semiconductor

Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NYSE:FSL, FSL.B) (http://www.freescale.com) is a global leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets. Freescale became a publicly traded company in July 2004 after more than 50 years as part of Motorola, Inc. The company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing, or sales operations in more than 30 countries. Freescale, a member of the S&P 500(R), is one of the world's largest semiconductor companies, with 2004 sales of $5.7 billion.