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AutoCell Declares "War on Wireless Chaos"; As Nearly 70% of Home Wi-Fi Users Suffer Interference Problems, RF Tech Leader Fights to Clear the Air of the Digital Living Room (17/3/2005)

At the Digital Living Room Summit; continuing its mission to reduce wireless interference and enhance quality of life in the digital home-- AutoCell (http://www.autocell.com) today declared "War on Wireless Chaos".

Driven by AutoCell Laboratories (award-winning manufacturer of solutions to dominate Radio Frequency (RF) interference in digital homes & businesses), the "War on Wireless Chaos" is a campaign to call public and industry attention to the growing problem of wireless interference.

"The airwaves home are completely congested," said Patrick Rafter, VP of Communications, AutoCell. "Wi-Fi networks now compete with microwave ovens, cordless phones and umpteen new wireless gizmos---all operating at the same frequency (e.g. cameras, Wi-Fi TVs, DLNA & closed system wireless video, and wireless gaming consoles). "Wireless interference is very real and unless wireless and consumer electronics manufacturers address the problem and deliver on their implied promise of interoperability they'll have a lot of unhappy customers," said Rafter.

According to JupiterResearch, the average tech-savvy home will have 35 wireless devices by 2009. With the number of wireless devices in switched-on households exploding, frustrated consumers could experience a level of wireless chaos that will lead to frustration, and a very disappointing digital experience.

The Problem of Wireless Interference (WI-nterference): Consumers' Top concern

The Wall Street Journal has noted "the increasing popularity of Wi-Fi has begun to cause problems -- consumers who were once delighted to go wireless are now complaining of Wi-Fi's slow speeds, limited reach and dropped connections." In validation of this article, AutoCell together with JupiterResearch recently conducted a formal survey of Wi-Fi home network owners which indicated that consumers see wireless interference as a top concern.

Summary of 2005 AutoCell/JupiterResearch Home Wi-Fi Network Owners & Interference Survey:

-- Interference concerns are a top concern for Wi-Fi home network owners with 69% aware of its symptoms (e.g. poor signals, slow connectivity, service interruptions, etc.). -- Wi-Fi Network owners experiencing these issues link the cause to interference (67%). -- Today 20% of Wi-Fi home network owners have returned equipment and nearly 50% of them identify interference symptoms as the culprit. -- Hardware vendors and service providers are affected by these issues. Customer service contacts made by 35% and hardware course of action taken by 29% (return, postpone purchase, seek different vendor) of those that experience issues.

Boon for Consumer Electronics and Broadband Providers

Founded to build solutions for enterprise networks and Small-to-Medium businesses--AutoCell's new "War Against Wireless Chaos" initiative and related product introductions and enhancements turn its wireless weapons to attack the assaults of RF interference upon the digital home.

AutoCell develops embedded software solutions for OEM/ODM, Broadband Service Providers and Consumer Electronics Manufacturing partners worldwide, who integrate AutoCell into their own products and services to ensure robust, high quality performance. AutoCell's counter-measures allay the negative effects of wireless interference by automatically detecting, monitoring, selecting and controlling those components of a wireless environment that create "RF noise". Home Wi-Fi routers/gateways with AutoCell built-in intelligently manage channels and power for optimum performance, eliminating interference and connectivity loss, while keeping their wireless networks invisible to nosy neighbors.

Needing to give their subscribers dependable wireless internet access and multimedia delivery, Broadband Service Providers (including cable companies and Telco carriers) see a range of valuable benefits through AutoCell. These include easy installation, reduced support costs and network optimization.

On-Site Demos for Media/Analysts

"As the premier summit for business opportunities for the digital lifestyle market for delivering and home consumer entertainment The Digital Living Room(R) is the ideal venue for us to call attention to the challenge of wireless chaos," said Sylvio Jelovcich, VP of Marketing, AutoCell.

During the summit, on March 7 and 8, 2005, the company will be conducting live demonstrations of how RF chaos is created (and resolved) in SUITE 2581 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, San Mateo, CA. The demonstration simulates the degradation of wireless performance in a multi-unit urban building in which wireless access points and laptops compete for bandwidth with a Microsoft Media Center server, wireless AV hub/DVD player, an XCam nanny cam, a PDA running Voice over IP and an everyday common microwave oven.

www.autocell.com