– 3.6 GHz Filter Supports High-Speed Wireless Access
Networks –– Solution Supports Lower Cost and
Faster Deployment of 5G –– Shipment against CBRS
Infrastructure Purchase Order –
Akoustis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKTS) (“Akoustis” or
the “Company”), an integrated device manufacturer (IDM) of unique
and patented bulk acoustic wave (BAW) high-band RF filters for
mobile and other wireless applications, announced today that it has
shipped 3.6 GHz filter samples to its first Citizens Broadband
Radio Service (CBRS) customer, against an order announced in August
of 2018.
Akoustis previously announced the receipt of a
purchase order whereby the Company committed to develop and deliver
3.6 GHz CBRS filters to its customer by the end of March 2019. With
this successful delivery to the customer, the Company expects to
receive commercial orders for qualified product later in 2019,
which aligns with the current roll-out schedule for CBRS
infrastructure, which is expected by the industry to begin in the
September quarter of 2019. Furthermore, the development of this 3.6
GHz CBRS filter is synergistic with the Company’s development of
filters for 5G New Radio (NR) frequency bands residing higher in
the radio frequency (RF) spectrum compared to 4G LTE.
This first CBRS customer is evaluating the 3.6
GHz filter for inclusion in customer premise equipment (CPE)
targeting infrastructure. The filter was developed and manufactured
in Akoustis’ Canandaigua, NY fabrication facility using its
proprietary XBAW™ process. Akoustis was chosen for the
development of this filter given advantages which include an
ultra-small form factor, wide bandwidth, high-power handling and
surface-mount packaging.
Jeff Shealy, Founder and CEO of Akoustis
Technologies, said, “The use of the CBRS band allows lower cost of
data transmission and is expected to facilitate the deployment of
5G faster and easier by using shared airwaves instead of the
lengthy process of allocating and licensing spectrum.” Mr.
Shealy continued, “For Akoustis, the CBRS market is a key facet of
our 5G strategy and we expect the market will be meaningful over
the next several years as providers look to create new last-mile
connectivity opportunities, enterprises look to deploy private
networks and individuals look to utilize the shared spectrum in
novel ways. The CBRS market presents another greenfield opportunity
for our high-performance, high frequency XBAW RF filters, and we
are excited to take a leadership position delivering hardware into
this new market.”
The CBRS band consists of 150 MHz shared
spectrum covering 3.55 to 3.7 GHz that has been earmarked for
access by the FCC. Initial deployments within the CBRS bands have
been with LTE, with the expectation that most will transition to 5G
cellular over time. The bands will enable existing carriers to
provide last-mile data service and augment individual networks. In
addition, it will enable enterprises to deliver campus-wide
communications and create secure IoT networks. Given the lack of
micro filter solutions in the market that can target this frequency
spectrum, CBRS represents another new opportunity for Akoustis
using its proprietary and patented XBAW technology.
Akoustis has introduced several new filters over
the past six months including its 5.2 GHz and 5.6 GHz WiFi
co-existence filters, the 3.8 GHz filter for phased-array radar
military applications and the Band 25 downlink and uplink filters
for LTE infrastructure. The Company is also developing several new
filters for the sub 7 GHz bands including multiple 5G mobile
filters for the mobile device and mobile infrastructure markets,
CBRS infrastructure market, WiFi device and infrastructure markets
as well as military markets.
About Akoustis Technologies, Inc.
Akoustis® (www.akoustis.com) is a high-tech BAW
RF filter solutions company that is pioneering next-generation
materials science and MEMS wafer manufacturing to address the
market requirements for improved RF filters - targeting higher
bandwidth, higher operating frequencies and higher output power
compared to incumbent polycrystalline BAW technology
deployed today. The Company utilizes its proprietary XBAW
manufacturing process to produce bulk acoustic wave RF filters
for mobile and other wireless markets, which facilitate
signal acquisition and accelerate band performance between the
antenna and digital back end. Superior performance is
driven by the significant advances of high-purity,
single-crystal and associated piezoelectric materials and the
resonator-filter process technology which drives electro-mechanical
coupling and translates to wide filter bandwidth.
Akoustis plans to service the fast growing
multi-billion-dollar RF filter market using its integrated
device manufacturer (IDM) business model. The Company owns and
operates a 120,000 sq. ft. ISO-9001:2015
certified commercial wafer-manufacturing facility located in
Canandaigua, NY, which includes a class 100 / class 1000 cleanroom
facility - tooled for 150-mm diameter wafers - for the
design, development, fabrication and packaging of RF filters, MEMS
and other semiconductor devices. Akoustis Technologies,
Inc. is headquartered in the Piedmont technology
corridor near Charlotte, North Carolina.
Forward-Looking Statements
This document includes “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities
Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor”
created by those sections. These forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, statements about our estimates,
expectations, beliefs, intentions, plans or strategies for the
future (including our possible future results of operations,
business strategies, competitive position, potential growth
opportunities, potential market opportunities and the effects of
competition), and the assumptions underlying such statements.
Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not
historical facts and typically are identified by use of terms such
as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "plan,"
"anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," “intend,”
“forecast,” “seek,” "potential," "continue" and similar words,
although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently.
Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor
assurances of future performance. Instead, these forward-looking
statements are based on management’s current beliefs,
expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and
uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those currently anticipated include, without
limitation, risks relating to the results of our research and
development activities, including uncertainties relating to
semiconductor process manufacturing; the development of our XBAWTM
technology and products presently under development and the
anticipated timing of such development; our ability to protect our
intellectual property rights that are valuable to our business,
including patent and other intellectual property rights; our
ability to successfully manufacture, market and sell products based
on our technologies; the ability to achieve qualification of our
products for commercial manufacturing in a timely manner and the
size and growth of the potential markets for any products so
qualified; the rate and degree of market acceptance of any of our
products; our ability to raise funding to support operations and
the continued development and qualification of our products and the
technologies underlying them; and our ability to service our
outstanding indebtedness. These and other risks and uncertainties
are described in more detail in the Risk Factors and Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations sections of the Company’s most recent Annual Report on
Form 10-K and in subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
Considering these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the
forward-looking statements regarding future events and
circumstances discussed in this document may not occur, and actual
results could differ materially and adversely from those
anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. You
should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of
future events. The forward-looking statements included in this
document speak only as of the date hereof and, except as required
by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly or privately
any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, for any
reason after the date of this document to conform these statements
to new information, actual results or to changes in our
expectations.
Contact:
COMPANY:
Tom Sepenzis
Akoustis Technologies
VP of Corporate Development & IR
(980) 689-4961
tsepenzis@akoustis.com
The Del Mar Consulting Group, Inc.
Robert B. Prag, President
858-794-9500
bprag@delmarconsulting.com
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