Azimuth(R) Systems Introduces the Industry's First MIMO Channel Emulator for Testing Wi-Fi(R) Products.

ACTON, Mass. -- The "ACE"(TM) Emulates Real World Environments for Controlled Testing of 802.11a/b/g and Future 802.11n Products

Azimuth(R) Systems, Inc., the leading provider of Wi-Fi(R) engineering test equipment, today announced the industry's first MIMO channel emulator for testing Wi-Fi products. The Azimuth Channel Emulator (ACE(TM)) 400NB reproduces 4 x 4 multipath environments with channel correlation to test multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) or single-input-single-output (SISO) solutions. The sophisticated, yet easy-to-use, ACE 400NB provides testing capabilities that were previously limited to leading research facilities - enabling Wi-Fi equipment vendors to improve product quality by measuring performance in an emulated, real world environment.

"Azimuth's customers strive to deliver wireless products that yield consistent performance, regardless of the environment," said Ray Cronin, CEO of Azimuth. "The ACE 400NB will enable vendors to introduce products that deliver data, voice and video over wireless with better performance and increased customer satisfaction."

Purpose-Built Channel Emulator

The ACE system is the first purpose-built 802.11 test solution that can emulate multipath signals in a controlled environment. Multipath - the reflection of radio frequency (RF) signals in a physical environment - can be difficult to predict and control because it is affected by a number of factors including building construction, time, and the presence of people or other obstacles.

Multipath reflections typically cause performance deterioration in today's SISO Wi-Fi products. However, MIMO technology, which will be included in the next generation Wi-Fi (802.11n) specification, takes advantage of multipath signals to improve product performance. Multipath emulation with correlated channels is required to determine whether MIMO algorithms are working properly and to predict performance of MIMO-based products in a real world environment.

"Channel emulation, especially involving multipath, is one of the most complex and difficult activities in wireless engineering today," said Craig Mathias, a principal with the wireless and mobile advisory firm, Farpoint Group (Ashland, Massachusetts). "Looking forward, great channel emulation is the only way to address the design and verification of ever-more sophisticated wireless LAN products, especially as MIMO begins to dominate future designs."

World Class Features and Functionality

The ACE 400NB is a stand-alone testing platform that can be used with current 802.11a/b/g devices and future 802.11n devices. It emulates real world conditions in a repeatable, controlled manner for efficient real-time performance testing of chipsets, clients and access points. Features include:

--Bi-directional 4x4 multipath channel emulation with correlated channels, capable of testing existing Wi-Fi products and products built to specifications in existing 802.11n-draft proposals;

--Built-in support for six real-time channel models for typical Wi-Fi scenarios, as recommended by the 802.11n working group, for referenceable performance comparisons;

--Direct connections to 802.11 devices (no external RF devices required) to simplify set-up;

--GUI-based configuration to select the channel model and TCL script control with one mouse click;

--Azimuth's patented SmartMotion(TM) attenuation system for precise measurement of performance over range.

The ACE solution is the latest addition to Azimuth's award-winning product line that includes the W-Series test platform. Like the W-Series, the channel emulator is designed from the ground-up as a turnkey WLAN test platform, and provides the flexibility and programmability needed to thoroughly evaluate wireless systems under varying motion and traffic conditions. In doing so, the system produces test results with unprecedented levels of repeatability, scalability and automation.

Advanced Customers

The ACE Channel Emulator addresses the testing needs of vendors across all Wi-Fi market segments and Azimuth has already received orders from customers anxious to prove the performance of their products in an emulated real world environment.

"To maintain our place on the cutting edge of the wireless industry, Broadcom continually refines its test engineering processes to keep pace with evolving technology," said Jason Trachewsky, senior director of engineering for Broadcom's Home & Wireless Business Unit. "We expect that Azimuth's channel emulator will be a valuable tool for testing MIMO-based solutions and ensuring the consistently superior performance of our next-generation silicon."

"Atheros is enabling our customers to achieve time to market advantages on new generations of wireless networking products," said Rick Bahr, vice president of engineering for Atheros Communications. "The Azimuth channel emulator is an innovative test tool that will heighten our ability to deliver reliable, high-bandwidth wireless connectivity throughout the home, enterprise and mobile environments."

The ACE product will begin shipping this quarter and has an order lead time of 12 weeks.

About Azimuth

Azimuth is a leading provider of wireless communications test solutions. Azimuth's products are used by the world's leading Wi-Fi semiconductor and system vendors to speed time-to-market and improve wireless product quality. Azimuth's W-Series, the industry's first standardized 802.11 test solution, and the new ACE 400NB enable research, development, QA and marketing engineers to test the performance, conformance and certification of wireless devices and networks supporting data, voice and video applications. The company is based in Acton, Massachusetts and is backed by prestigious investors including Kodiak Venture Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners. Azimuth may be contacted at [phone] or at www.azimuthsystems.com.

Azimuth is a registered trademark and SmartMotion and ACE are trademarks of Azimuth Systems, Inc. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance.