Conductus made an announcement last week regarding a beta deployment
agreement with a rural cellular operator, Cellcom, which could
lead to commercial sales of their superconducting cellular base
stations. To me, this sounds like good news. I don't know why
the stock is not responding. Any thoughts?
Here's the announcement:
June 19, 1996
Conductus Announces Agreement For First Cellular Beta Deployment
Cellcom to be First Rural Operator to Deploy Superconductive Filter
Technology
SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Conductus, Inc. (Nasdaq:
CDTS), a pioneer in the commercialization of superconductive
electronics, announced today that it has completed a beta deployment
agreement with Cellcom, a rural cellular company based in DePere,
Wisconsin. Conductus believes this is the first industry order for
deployment of superconductive technology in the rural cellular
environment. Per the agreement, Cellcom will install three Conductus
ultra-low-noise receiver subsystems in their Wisconsin network this Fall
and provided the systems meet specified performance criteria, will
purchase the units for permanent installation.
"Cellcom is thrilled to be the communications industry leader in the use
of superconductive technology," said Jim Lienau, director of engineering
for Cellcom. "We clearly saw the benefits of the Conductus product
during the alpha field test in Wisconsin last month. We can now look
forward to a potential upgrade of our rural system performance providing
our customers with improved service and signal clarity, especially in
previously marginal areas." Adds Lienau, "Having committed ourselves to
deploying the highest levels of service to our customers, we are eager
to build a strong partnership with Conductus."
In field tests conducted earlier this year with Cellcom, Conductus'
receiver subsystem enhanced base station range, improved coverage and
improved signal quality. The Conductus product is designed to increase
uplink sensitivity for base station's receiver. With increased uplink
sensitivity, a receiver is able to detect and process weaker signals,
which can result from the use of lower-power (0.6 watt) portable phones,
as well as from heavy terrain and man-made obstacles.
"Rural operators, in particular, are requiring improved cell-site
coverage and extended range from their networks as consumers increase
their demand for high-quality service from lower-power (0.6 watt)
portable phones compared to 3-watt mobile phones. Cellcom was chosen
from these tests as a result of its history in providing quality service
to customers," adds Stephen M. Garrison, product marketing manager for
Conductus.
In addition to enhanced performance for base stations, the Conductus
"plug-and-play" retrofit solution is a more cost-effective approach than
the alternative of building new cell sites or mounting tower-top systems
to increase range. The product performance in several field tests has
demonstrated noise floor reductions ranging from 2 to 4 dB. Beyond
filling in holes in existing coverage, this level of performance can
potentially increase a base station's range by 20 to 60% when not
otherwise limited by terrain and other obstacles.
Conductus, Inc., based in Sunnyvale, California, develops, manufactures
and markets electronic components and systems based on superconductors.
The company was founded in 1987 in response to the discovery of
"high-temperature" superconductors. Conductus has developed
high-temperature thin-film superconducting materials and devices to
address the needs of the communications, healthcare and instrumentation
markets.
Cellcom, based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, operates approximately 100 base
stations providing cellular service to several rural and urban areas in
Wisconsin and Iowa. The company was founded in 1987.
NOTE: Press announcements and other information about Conductus are
available on the Internet via the World Wide Web using a tool such as
Netscape or NCSA Mosaic. Type best.com-cdts at the prompt.
/CONTACT: Stephen M. Garrison, Product Marketing Manager, Wireless, of
Conductus, Inc., 408-523-9430/
12:37 EDT
[Next]
[Image]
Copyright 1996 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
