Tests Show SkyCross Embedded Antennas Perform Better Than Originally-Equipped External Antennas For Wireless Devices

MELBOURNE, Florida, July 26, 2001 — SkyCross, Inc., a leading developer of advanced wireless antenna solutions, today announced that tests show its antennas require significantly less power to transmit an RF signal than antennas currently available today in commercial handheld wireless devices. This savings in power can result in longer battery life for wireless devices or improved cell coverage for wireless operators.

In summary, SkyCross' high gain, embedded antennas showed reductions in required mobile (or handset) transmitter power-the power needed to establish and maintain a link back to the cell site-of up to 4.9 dB. SkyCross antennas on average required 2.3 dB (or approximately 40 percent) less transmitter power than the originally equipped external antennas.

"The findings in these independent tests clearly demonstrate improved performance in wireless devices equipped with SkyCross antennas," said Alan Haase, CEO of SkyCross. "Our patented Meanderline Antenna technology provides us with the opportunity to design antennas that are physically small yet electrically large."

Key findings from the tests:

• SkyCross' embedded antennas, although smaller than the external antennas that are standard equipment on the mobile phones tested, featured an average reduction in required mobile transmitter power (over all tests performed) of 2.3 dB.
• In the 1900 CDMA field tests, SkyCross antennas featured an average reduction in required mobile transmitter power of 3 dB.
• In the 800 TDMA field tests, SkyCross antennas featured an average reduction in required mobile transmitter power of 0.5 dB.

In the case of a CDMA system, where overall performance is significantly influenced by mobile transmitter power, there is an added benefit to using SkyCross' antennas, explained Haase. "If all mobile devices in a CDMA cell used our better performing antennas, then the overall cell capacity-the number of calls that could be made at any one time-would increase," Haase said.

The high gain characteristics of SkyCross' embedded antennas provide wireless engineers with a couple of options, explained Kerry Greer, Director of Marketing at SkyCross. "High gain could translate to approximately 40 percent longer battery life for your wireless device," Greer said. "Engineers also could use the advantages of a high gain antenna to extend the reach of the cell site, meaning you could travel further out from the cell and still make a call," he said.

SkyCross contracted with Agilent Technologies, a leader in system performance testing, to perform a series of drive tests that replicated real world operational conditions for mobile phone use. Off-the-shelf mobile handsets were used to test CDMA and TDMA system performance. In each test, the performance of an originally equipped mobile phone was measured side-by-side with the same model phone modified with a physically smaller, embedded antenna from SkyCross. The tests were conducted for both hands-free and handheld operations in a variety of suburban and rural driving terrain. (The final test report can be found at www.skycross.com.)

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