Akoustis Receives First 5G Network Infrastructure Filter Order For A Tier-1 Customer For 5G Small Cell Architecture

• Akoustis’ 5G Infrastructure Customer Targeting Production in 1st Half CY2020
• Company’s Band n79 Filter Targets Emerging 5G Network for China Market
• New XBAW™ Filter Operates in the Ultra-High Band (UHB), Sub-6 GHz Spectrum

Charlotte, NC (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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 a pre-production order through a distribution partner for its band n79 filter solution intended for a tier-1 cellular infrastructure provider for use in 5G small cell base station network equipment.

Akoustis initially sampled its new band n79 XBAW filter solution in September to this customer - its second multi-billion-dollar tier-1 cellular infrastructure provider. The solution was specifically designed for the challenging filtering needs of band n79 in the emerging 5G small cell network infrastructure deploying across China. The customer is targeting a production launch in the first half of CY2020.

The new filter solution leverages Akoustis’ patented and proprietary XBAW technology to deliver high frequency, high power and high performance. It offers small size, low insertion loss and high out-of-band rejection which should compete favorably against existing network infrastructure filtering technologies including ceramic and cavity filters.

Jeff Shealy, Founder and CEO of Akoustis, stated, “We are excited to move into pre-production with our second tier-1 5G network infrastructure customer. This is the first of several ultra-high band filters that we expect to deliver to the 5G base station market over the next several quarters.”

Mr. Shealy continued, “Our ability to provide ultra-high band filters that offer superior power handling and performance at high frequencies is driving increased demand for our patented XBAW technology. We look forward to entering production in both small cell and massive MIMO architectures in calendar 2020.”

Small cells are low power, short range wireless base stations that help provide service to both indoor and outdoor settings in densely populated urban areas. Small cells are expected to play an important role in the 5G network in highly populated areas by delivering high-speed mobile broadband, low latency and a better user experience.

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.

The band n79 5G XBAW network infrastructure filter (named A10149) features:

• Low insertion loss passband filter
• High rejection enables co-existence with adjacent 5G and WiFi UNII bands
• High return loss
• Single ended Tx/Rx ports
• High power rating, maximum +30dBm
• Ultra-small form factor 2.5mm x 2.0mm x 0.9mm
• Performance over -40C to +85C
• RoHS compliant, Pb-free package

For data sheet and sales inquiries, please contact sales@akoustis.com.

The 5G small cell band n79 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 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.

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