Press Release

03-22-2011

Acorn Technologies’ HellaPHY™ IP Core’s Value Illustrated by Wireless 20/20’s Award-Winning Analysis Tools

HellaPHY shown to reduce TCO significantly--especially for LTE

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--International CTIA Wireless 2011 – Acorn Technologies (www.acorntech.com), an Intellectual Property (IP) development and commercialization company, and Wireless 20/20 LLC (www.wireless2020.com), a leader in broadband wireless consulting and the developer of the industry-leading WiROI™ Business Case Analysis Tool, today announced that the benefits of the Acorn’s HellaPHY™ IP core solution have been analyzed with Wireless 20/20’s WiROI™ 4.0 model and shown to significantly reduce network total cost of ownership (TCO) for 4G wireless networks.

HellaPHY works by increasing overall receiver performance, offering spectral efficiency improvements of more than 60% under challenging mobile channel conditions -- including co-channel interference, inter-carrier interference, multi-path interference and thermal noise. Compared to other approaches, HellaPHY provides some of the highest spectral efficiency gain per dollar while retaining critically low implementation complexity. The HellaPHY implementation can be easily integrated into a 4G chipset solution with minimal impact yet provides significant performance improvement.

“Using the WiROI™ Model, we tested the impact of improvements to the 4G service provider business case,” said Haig Sarkissian, principal consultant at Wireless 20/20. “PHY level improvements affected the business case by reducing the number of cell sites by up to 19 percent; increasing Free Cash Flow by 23 percent; and improving NPV (or Net Present Value) of a 4G investment by 40 percent. With the increase in spectral efficiency, operators can deliver a better user experience and deploy fewer base stations, whether they are considering WiMAX™ or LTE as a deployment technology.”

Wireless 20/20’s WiROI™ offers network operators and equipment manufacturers a comprehensive analysis of CapEx and OpEx for deploying a broadband wireless network. Developed through extensive industry experience with actual network deployments, WiROI has the flexibility to model a variety of deployment plans and service models.

WiROI™ analyzed HellaPHY’s performance in downlink only scenarios, where HellaPHY was only integrated into user equipment. The model then analyzed HellaPHY for uplink and downlink scenarios in LTE base stations and user equipment. Finally, WiROI evaluated downlink-only scenarios for WiMAX™. Analysis showed average IRR impact to be 7% (700 basis points); full results are available upon request from Wireless 20/20. Continued testing and evaluations are showing HellaPHY’s benefits are even greater for LTE. With the resulting increase in capacity and bandwidth efficiency, mobile operators can deliver higher data rates and wider coverage to end-users, greatly improving the business case for deploying 4G networks.

“Utilizing the WiROI™ tool to demonstrate the significant value proposition for HellaPHY is another important step in bringing our technology to the market,” said Steve Caliguri, VP at Acorn Technologies. “As operators face strong demand for 4G connectivity, HellaPHY delivers industry-leading performance at an affordable price.”

About Wireless 20/20, LLC
Wireless 20/20 is an independent market research and consulting company focused solely on the broadband wireless market. Wireless 20/20 has helped over 45 broadband wireless operators around the world build business case, analyze market opportunities, complete technology and vendor selection, and develop network roll out strategies.  Our principals have been engaged in the wireless industry since its inception and have a thorough understanding of the technical, business and product issues surrounding the development of wireless devices, equipment, networks and services. For more information visit: www.wireless2020.com.

About ACORN Technologies
Acorn Technologies engages in the invention and development of advanced technologies, which have substantial commercial value. It is also a leader in the area of Intellectual Property (IP) transactions. Acorn has three lines of business: IP transactions for a variety of sources including academia, major corporations and venture backed companies; Semiconductors, where we are developing nanotechnologies focused on performance and scaling; and Wireless telecommunications for 4G and beyond, comprising chip-level performance improvement for significant gains in spectral efficiency. Acorn is composed of a group of scientists, engineers and business people with deep roots in the technology innovation landscape. Founded in 1999 and privately held, Acorn has operations in Los Angeles, Palo Alto and San Diego. For more information, please visit www.acorntech.com.

WiROI™ is a trademark of Wireless 20/20, LLC. WiMAX™ is a trademark of the WiMAX Forum ^®.

Media Contact:

For Acorn Technologies
Amy Farrell Cook
+1 214-250-4995
farrella@ruderfinn.com

For Wireless 20/20
Robin Bestel
+1 610-428-5845
robin@wireless2020.com

Media Contact:

Robin Bestel
610-428-5845
robin@wireless2020.com