General Information
	The Company
		APA Wireless Technologies is a single-source technology developer and manufacturer of high performance components for broadband fixed wireless communications systems. APA Wireless was formed in October, 2000. APA evolved out of a group of companies that began with Marlo Electronics (military printed circuit board manufacturer), in 1966 and expanded into a vertically integrated enterprise delivering mission critical components for products ranging from Motorola pagers and heart pacemakers to military avionics and communication systems. · Marlo Electronics - founded in 1966, a manufacturer of complex commercial/military printed circuit boards · Marlo International - founded in 1991, an importer of high volume, low cost printed circuit boards from Asia/Pacific · Tropical Assemblies - founded in 1994, a profitable company that provides technologically complex electronic contract manufacturing and assembly · ICS/Tropical - founded in 1997, a company that developed and manufactured breakthrough technologies in wireless communications. ICS/Tropical worked with several wireless technology companies, providing solutions to their ever more complex design problems · APA Wireless Technologies - ICS/Tropical's research led to the development of the new YRO™ technology and the founding of APA in 2000 which now develops and markets YRO™-based products. APA is a combination of ICS/Tropical and Tropical Assemblies. With its new YRO™ synthesizers, APA is well positioned to capitalize on the large, growing need for reliable, high-speed RF synthesizers/exciters. With an experienced team of Radio Frequency business and engineering experts and the fully automated assembly systems of the former Tropical Assemblies, APA is capable of producing high volumes of consistent, high-quality modules at an affordable cost and price. A current focus for APA Wireless is its first-to-market RF synthesizer technology with capabilities to significantly advance the performance of broadband fixed wireless systems. APA Wireless Technologies grew out of a group of companies with a 40-plus year track record of solving complex electronic manufacturing problems and developing components for products ranging from Motorola pagers to F-18 fighter jets. The initial company, Marlo Electronics, Inc., produces printed circuit boards for the avionics, medical, data communications, music recording, and military industries.
	The Product
		The new generation "RF supermodule" is a crucial component for telecommunications providers working to satisfy rapidly growing customer demand for reliable, high-speed, cost-effective data transmission. High-speed wireless systems rely on embedded radio frequency (RF) synthesizer modules to generate and control the microwave frequencies used for data transmission. The RF modules compress information into packets, translate them into radio frequency signals and transmit them to other wireless stations. Currently, those RF modules use "YIG" (yttrium iron garnet) technology, based on a rare earth material. The technology requires hand assembly to manufacture, is relatively slow to tune and sensitive to vibration in many settings. After more than three years of R&D, APA Wireless developed new RF technology, dubbed "YRO"™ for YIG Replacement Oscillator. YRO™ technology provides data transmission companies with a competitive advantage. It enables them to reliably provide faster, higher volume transmission by packing more data into smaller existing frequencies, rather than having to add expensive new infrastructure. This advance is: highly resistant to vibration in real world settings, and capable of changing frequencies in less than one millionth of a second - up to 1,000 times faster than any YIG capable of supporting communication speeds over 145 megabits per second, which is comparable to fiber optic technologies easier and more cost-effective to manufacture in high volume, at savings up to 65 percent over conventional YIG-based technologies, with 60 percent better yields. APA Wireless is the sole-source provider of this cutting-edge technology. Production is scheduled to begin in first quarter, 2001 on the first YRO™-contracted products.
	The Market
		The telecommunications industry is confronting a new paradigm of increased demand, increased competition, increased opportunity, and rapidly evolving technologies as data traffic pushes networks built for voice to the limit of their capacity. The demand for data delivery of all kinds, including high-bandwidth multimedia and fast Internet connections, is already large and continues to grow at an incredibly rapid rate. The wireless data services industry will continue to be an even larger, faster-growing market driven by the need for wireless access to data through applications and hand-held devices. Computer usage continues to increase and data is becoming more accessible due to the Internet and improvements in database management systems. In addition, significant advances in computer networking have led to the integration of computers with traditional business telephone systems. These advances enable individuals and businesses to exchange vast quantities of data, greatly taxing the existing telephony infrastructure. This increasing demand requires providers of communications infrastructure to continuously add bandwidth by laying more fiber and wiring new and existing buildings, an expensive proposition. However, the need for data access is expanding faster than ground can be broken to lay wired networks. The costs associated with laying cable -- estimated to be $750,000 per mile - further hamper the deployment of high speed networks. Therefore, leading telecommunications companies are developing fixed broadband wireless solutions to meet this need and connect customers to a full suite of communications services in record time. Broadband fixed wireless has multiple uses; it can be used in conjunction with existing technologies such as: copper wire, xDSL, fiber, and satellite. Rapid wireless growth puts enormous demand on the industry for new products. This drives companies to grow quickly and seek competitive advantages. Having a new wireless related technology like the YRO™, makes APA very attractive.