New Wireless Handset Antenna Reduces SAR Up To 86 Percent; Antenna Also Makes Cellphones Hearing Aid Compatible.

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 1997--LTN Ltd. Friday announced that tests of its new wireless handset antenna reduced peak SAR up to 86 percent.

The SAR test results for the antenna area of the phone were confirmed by Kathy MacLean, president of APREL Laboratories of Ottawa, Canada where the tests were conducted. APREL is an independent laboratory which carries out SAR testing and research, and is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada and the FCC.

The comparative SAR measurements were made using a PCS handset supplied by a major manufacturer operated with its standard wire antenna, and the same handset operated with the new antenna design.

SAR or specific absorption rate, is a measurement of the radio frequency energy given off by cellular telephone handsets when they transmit which is absorbed by users when they are talking on their phones.

"When fully integrated into the phone, the new antenna can reduce the SAR to near zero by redirecting the handset signal to cell sites more effectively, and not wasting it in SAR" said Jim Shaw, LTN's chief engineer.

According to Shaw, "The main benefits of this new design are that it makes cellphones hearing aid compatible by directing energy away from the user, and it increases the phone's range by 50 percent to more than 100 percent, resulting in longer battery life and substantially less dropped calls."

"The new RangeStar antenna is about the size and shape of a domino and can be assembled into the top back portion of any handset just like a capacitor or transistor," said John Scoggan, LTN's vice president of operations. "It also has the advantage of being out of the way, sight unseen inside the phone."

According to Patricia Yeager, executive director for the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers, and a hearing impaired volunteer who tested the new PCS phones with LTN antennas, "Using a PCS digital phone with the RangeStar antenna was an ear opening experience! The voice on the other end was very clear and pleasant to listen to. Best of all, there was no interference."

"Initiatives such as the LTN antenna design are important steps toward the common wireless industry goal, which is reduction of SAR and improved hearing aid compatibility," said Dr. Jacek J. Wojcik, president of the Spectrum Sciences Institute (SSI), home to APREL Laboratories and the Dosimetry Research Board (DRB), among others. SSI is a non-profit advanced engineering and conference center in Ottawa that conducts research and hosts seminars for the wireless communications and other high technology industries.

APREL Laboratories was listed by the FCC in February, 1997 as the first fully independent laboratory in North America able to carry out SAR testing in compliance with FCC SAR test requirements. APREL has also previously been contracted to conduct testing for CTIA's Equipment Certification Programs. Some other APREL clients include AT&T, Nortel, Pacific Bell, Mitsubishi, and Sony Corp. It is also a founding member of the DRB, a research consortium of SSI.

LTN Ltd., has an R&D facility in South San Francisco, Calif. and offices in Laguna Hills, and Southlake, Texas. APREL Laboratories has headquarters in Nepean, Ontario, Canada.

CONTACT: LTN Ltd., Laguna Hills

John Lezotte, 888/891-4100

LTN [e-mail]

or

APREL Laboratories

Kathy M. MacLean, 613/820-2730

[e-mail]