Ambient Corp. BPL TechnologySeptember 26, 2007 08:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG), a leader in Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) solutions, issued today a letter to stockholders from President and CEO John J. Joyce.
Dear Valued Stockholders:
At our Annual Meeting of Stockholders in May of 2007, we set forth four primary goals and objectives: stabilizing Ambient’s capital structure, increasing revenues, fostering the creation of industry standards and enhancing our technology while protecting our intellectual property. We continue to strive to meet these goals that position Ambient for its future growth. I am pleased to provide you with this report highlighting the latest developments.
To stabilize our capital structure, we have completed a number of initial actions. We are pleased to report the results of our Special Meeting of Stockholders held on Friday, September 21st. A vote to increase the number of shares of Common Stock the Company is authorized to issue, passed by greater than 70% approval, with 88% of our outstanding shares participating in the vote. Ambient requested the increase in Authorized Shares in order to be able to support raising additional working capital. However, at this time, the Company has no commitment for additional funding. Ambient strengthened its balance sheet in August of 2007, retiring $2.4 Million of short-term debt and closing on a $7.5 Million private placement of long-term debt securities from an institutional investor, Vicis Capital Master Fund. Vicis Capital shares Ambient’s vision and strategy, and is backed by approximately $2 Billion in managed assets. Interest on the private placement does not begin accruing until July 2008, with the first quarterly interest payment due in September 2008. As part of our continuing efforts to limit the distribution of Ambient stock at a discount-to-market price and control further dilution, we have paid in cash the scheduled monthly payments for July, August and September on our 2006 Debentures.
Overall, 2007 has been a very active and challenging year for Ambient and the BPL industry as a whole. Ambient now finds itself in a rapidly changing environment where the term “Smart Grid” has become more than just a catch phrase used by utilities seeking to modernize their distribution grid. Smart Grid applications are driving utility innovation and bringing much needed recognition to the looming infrastructure dilemma facing U.S. electric utilities. It is in this new environment of awareness for utilities, regulators and legislators that Ambient is continuing its position as an innovative leader in the BPL industry focusing on both the functionality and environmental benefits of a BPL Smart Grid. Those not familiar with the environmental benefits derived from BPL are invited to look on our website under “Company” (http://www.ambientcorp.com/pages/about.htm) for our “Environmentalism through Efficiency” presentation.
We continue to validate our technologies in the field as Ambient is presently conducting trials and commercial pilots with major electric utilities that serve in aggregate of over 12 million electric customers. These projects are directed towards a variety of goals including developing and demonstrating Smart Grid utility applications, residential and multi-dwelling unit consumer broadband Internet access, and successful operation of our next generation hardware products and network management software. We have also been actively seeking new opportunities, replying to request for proposals (RFP) from both major U.S. investor owned utilities (IOUs) and regional municipal electric suppliers.
We have also completed a number of enhancements to our product suite. We have received an addition to our FCC-certification to utilize Arteche capacitive couplers in our BPL systems. We have installed these couplers in our largest field deployment. Capacitive coupling was added to the Ambient suite to increase Ambient’s flexibility in network design and to address line and access concerns on particular segments of the overhead medium voltage electrical grid.
Our ongoing product enhancement work continues with Consolidated Edison of New York as we develop and modify our equipment to adapt to the Manhattan underground environment. We are also upgrading our deployment in Westchester County, NY to our FCC-certified, second-generation equipment. Our deployments with Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy Service Company and Entergy Corporation in Little Rock, Arkansas continue to operate while these individual customers evaluate our technology for larger deployments.
After an extended evaluation period, Ambient and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) have concluded our BPL demonstration. While the pilot demonstration has concluded with SDG&E, we believe that Ambient’s experience and BPL technology will favorably position us should SDG&E decide to proceed with Smart Grid utility applications in the future.
The BPL industry is now blossoming with increased support from investors, the FCC and local and federal legislators. Legislation in both the U.S. House of Representatives (HR 3221) and the U.S. Senate (HR 6) for Smart Grid capabilities have been introduced and lobbying through the GridWise Alliance occurs. Based this support, the United Power Line Council estimates the U.S. BPL market to generate $2.5 billion in revenue by 2010. I believe Ambient’s long-term strategy of choosing focused pilot deployments with innovative utility partners will prove successful.
As always, thank you for your continued interest and support of Ambient.
Sincerely,
John J. Joyce
President and CEO
About Ambient Corporation
Ambient is a pioneer in the Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) industry and is engaged in the design, development and marketing of patented, FCC-certified BPL equipment and technologies. Ambient utilizes proprietary technology and in-depth industry experience to provide optimal solutions for Smart Grids and the Broadband Access and In-premise markets. Headquartered in Newton, MA, Ambient is a publicly traded company (OTCBB: ABTG). Visit Ambient at www.ambientcorp.com.
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