Avnet Electronics Marketing and Cortina Systems Inc. Announce Franchise

January 8, 2007 - PHOENIX -- Cortina Systems Inc. named Avnet Electronics Marketing as its distribution partner today, giving Avnet customers access to its full line of communications components.

The communications market remains a focus for Avnet and an important segment to the overall electronics industry. ’The addition of Cortina Systems to our already strong communications product offering will present significant advantages for Avnet customers,’ said Jeff Ittel, senior vice president, Semiconductor Business Group, Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas.

Cortina selected Avnet due to its reputation for superior service and customer support. Avnet has the ability to support Cortina’s customers around the globe with supply chain and design chain resources in each major region. ’Customers using Cortina’s products expect quality and flawless customer support,’ said Richard Walther vice president of sales, Cortina Systems Inc. ’By expanding Cortina’s sales channel to include Avnet, our customers can be assured of this.’

In September, Cortina purchased Intel’s line of optical network components - adding Ethernet media access controllers, physical layer devices, transport and service framers, optical transport forward error correction (FEC) framers, and T1/E1 line interface products to its own line of Ethernet Framers, Ethernet PHYs, Optical Transport FEC framers, Ethernet over SONET service framers, and T1/E1 Line Interface Units. This agreement covers the entire Cortina portfolio, giving additional breadth and depth to the Avnet product offering while allowing existing Intel customers a smooth transition.

About Avnet Electronics Marketing
Avnet Electronics Marketing is an operating group of Phoenix-based Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), a Fortune 500 company. Avnet Electronics Marketing serves electronic original equipment manufacturers (EOEMs) and electronic manufacturing services (EMS) providers in 70 countries, distributing electronic components from leading manufacturers and providing associated design-chain and supply-chain services. The group’s Web site is located at http://www.em.avnet.com/.

About Avnet
Avnet, Inc. is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and technology services and solutions with more than 250 locations serving 70 countries worldwide. The company markets, distributes and optimizes the supply-chain and provides design-chain services for the products of the world’s leading electronic component suppliers, enterprise computer manufacturers and embedded subsystem providers. Avnet brings a breadth and depth of capabilities, such as maximizing inventory efficiency, managing logistics, assembling products and providing engineering design assistance for its 100,000 customers, accelerating their growth through cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended July 1, 2006, Avnet generated revenue of $14.25 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.

About Cortina Systems Inc.
Cortina Systems Inc. is driving the evolution of multi-service carrier and enterprise networks with advanced analog and digital communications ICs. Founded in 2001, Cortina is funded by leading private venture capital organizations and is based in Sunnyvale, California. Additional information about Cortina is available at www.cortina-systems.com.

Cortina Systems and the Cortina Systems logo are trademarks of Cortina Systems Inc.

Contact Information

Chris Walker

Brodeur, for Avnet

Contact via E-mail