Akoustis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKTS) (“Akoustis” or
the “Company”), an integrated device manufacturer (IDM) of patented
bulk acoustic wave (BAW) high-band RF filters for mobile and other
wireless applications, announced today it has received its first
volume commercial order for 5G small cell network infrastructure
filter solutions.
Today’s announcement is a significant
achievement for Akoustis as it marks the first volume order the
Company has received for its proprietary and patented XBAW™ RF
filters targeting the fast growing 5G infrastructure market.
The order is from a tier-1 network
infrastructure customer for high frequency BAW filters targeting a
key 5G band in the sub-6 GHz, ultra-high frequency (UHF) spectrum
for the Asia market. Akoustis has completed early shipments for
this filter and expects to begin ramping shipments against this
order in the June quarter of CY2020.
In addition to this key 5G network filter,
Akoustis has developed a second filter for 5G networks in Asia for
this same customer and expects to receive a second volume order by
the end of the June quarter.
Jeff Shealy, Founder and CEO of Akoustis,
stated, “This volume order is a significant achievement for
Akoustis as it is our first volume order in 5G infrastructure for
the Asia market. We moved rapidly with this tier-1 customer having
transitioned from design kick-off to a commercial order inside of
six months. We look forward to expanding our relationship
with this customer in the coming months as they look to deliver
small cell products with additional frequency bands.”
5G small cell base stations are low power, short
range cellular transmission devices, capable of providing extended
coverage for consumers, enterprises or to augment cellular coverage
for 5G mobile service providers. They offer all the standard
characteristics of a traditional tower base station and can handle
high data throughput. 5G networks are expected to employ small
cells in greater quantity than prior networks to help mitigate the
shorter wavelengths associated with higher frequencies. In a recent
report, Zion Market Research estimated the global small cell
5G network market was valued at around $381 million in 2018 and is
expected to reach approximately $3.5 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of
approximately 37% between 2019 and 2025.
Akoustis’ high frequency, high performance XBAW
process and filters are experiencing growing interest as the
Company prepares to enter production in multiple markets in
calendar 2020, including 5G network infrastructure, high-band WiFi
and the phased-array radar applications.
The 5G network infrastructure filters are
designed and manufactured using the Company’s patented XBAW process
and manufactured in the Company’s Si-MEMS Wafer Fab located in
Canandaigua, NY.
Akoustis has introduced several new filters over
the past twelve months including a 5.6 GHz WiFi filter, a 5.2 GHz
WiFi filter, a 4.9 GHz band n79 filter for small cell network
infrastructure, a 3.8 GHz filter and five S-Band filters for
defense phased-array radar applications, a 3.6 GHz filter for the
CBRS infrastructure market and band 25 downlink and uplink filters
for LTE infrastructure. The Company is also developing several new
filters for the sub-7 GHz bands targeting 5G mobile device, network
infrastructure, WiFi CPE and defense 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 achieve design wins from current and
future customers; 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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