Contact:  Jon Anderson, Actel Corporation (650) 318-4445

For Immediate Release
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                      ACTEL ADOPTS SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS PLAN


     Mountain View, CA, October 17, 2003--Actel  Corporation  (NASDAQ:  ACTL), a
provider of innovative programmable logic solutions, announced that its board of
directors today adopted a Shareholder  Rights Plan.  Under the plan,  Actel will
issue a  dividend  of one  right  for each  share of its  common  stock  held by
shareholders of record as of the close of business on November 10, 2003.

     The  shareholder  rights plan is designed to guard against  partial  tender
offers  and other  coercive  tactics  to gain  control  of the  company  without
offering a fair and adequate price and terms to all of Actel's shareholders. The
plan was not adopted in response to any efforts to acquire the company,  and the
company is not aware of any such efforts.

     Each right will  initially  entitle  shareholders  to purchase a fractional
share of the company's preferred stock for $220.00.  However, the rights are not
immediately  exercisable and will become exercisable only upon the occurrence of
certain events. If a person or group acquires, or announces a tender or exchange
offer  that  would  result in the  acquisition  of 15 percent or more of Actel's
common stock while the shareholder  rights plan remains in place,  then,  unless
the rights are  redeemed  by Actel for $0.001 per right,  the rights will become
exercisable  by all  rights  holders  except the  acquiring  person or group for
shares of Actel or shares of the third  party  acquirer  having a value of twice
the  right's  then-current  exercise  price.  Further  details  of the  plan are
outlined in a letter that will be mailed to shareholders as of the record date.



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ACTEL ADOPTS SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS PLAN                                       2-2-2

About Actel
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Actel  Corporation  is a supplier of innovative  programmable  logic  solutions,
including  field-programmable  gate arrays  (FPGAs)  based on antifuse and flash
technologies,   high-performance  intellectual  property  (IP)  cores,  software
development   tools  and   design   services,   targeted   for  the   high-speed
communications,  application-specific  integrated circuit (ASIC) replacement and
radiation-tolerant  markets.  Founded in 1985, Actel employs  approximately  500
people worldwide.  The Company is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the
symbol  ACTL  and is  headquartered  at  2061  Stierlin  Court,  Mountain  View,
California, 94043. Telephone: 888-99-ACTEL (992-2835). Internet:
http://www.actel.com

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