Voyager Digital Reports Revenue of US$164.8 Million for the Quarter Ended December 31, 2021

Research, News, and Market Data on Voyager Digital

 

Voyager Digital Ltd. (“Voyager” or the “Company”) (TSX: VOYG; OTCQX: VYGVF; FRA: UCD2) one of the fastest-growing, publicly traded cryptocurrency platforms in the United States, today announced revenue and user metrics for the Fiscal 2022 Second Quarter ended December 31, 2021.

“I am excited to report our best quarter ever, doubling our revenue from the previous quarter, and highlighting Voyager’s positioning and revenue opportunity in active markets,” said Steve Ehrlich, CEO and Co-founder of Voyager.  Ehrlich continued, “More importantly, we delivered significant revenue growth and supported a marked increase in customer activity without any material system issues during the quarter, highlighting the steps we’ve taken to build out the scale and security of the Voyager platform in 2021, as we position Voyager for a series of product roll outs in calendar 2022.

“We are a product delivery organization and are taking the necessary steps to continue our revenue diversification strategy,” continued Mr. Ehrlich. “The launch of our Voyager Debit Card, which allows for payroll direct deposits, is the next step in revenue diversification.  We recently added engineering resources to our team which allowed us to add more tokens to the trading platform, and tokens available for staking. By the end of the March quarter, we expect our desktop platform and dark mode will be added to our product offering.  We are also building towards adding equities to the platform, expanding the platform to Europe and Canada, and offering an NFT product and wallet. All of these are significant opportunities for the Company; and with our NFT platform we intend to make the viewing, acquiring and custody of NFTs easy for consumers.”

The Company is pleased to announce the following Fiscal 2022 Second Quarter ended December 31, 2021 Financial and Operational Key Metrics:

•  Revenue for the quarter is $164.8 million with $149.0 million for the historical business and $15.8 million from the Coinify merchant business. The $164.8 million in revenue is up over 4400% compared to $3.5 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2020.
• Revenue for the calendar year ended December 31, 2021 is $415.8 million vs $6.6 million for the calendar year ended December 31, 2020.
• Adjusted EBITDA is $17.4 million for the quarter vs $2.8 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2020.
• Operating Income is $3.2 million for the quarter vs a loss of $2.9 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2020.
• Total verified users on the platform stand at more than 3.2 million, up 49% from 2.15 million at the quarter ended September 30, 2021.
• Total funded accounts exceed 1,074,000 as of December 31, 2021, up 25% from 860,000 at the quarter ended September 30, 2021.
• Total Assets on Platform grew to $5.9 billion from $4.3 billion at September 30, 2021.
• Our headcount increased to 250 as of December 31, 2021, from 231 at September 30, 2021.

All figures are preliminary and unaudited and subject to final adjustment. All amounts are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated.
 
“I am truly excited about where we are and where we are going. Voyager’s business continues to grow every day and the company is well positioned as a pioneer in the digital asset space,” Ehrlich added.
 
Conference Call Details
Voyager will discuss its Fiscal 2022 Second Quarter results today, February 15, 2022, via a conference call at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To access the webcast, please register by clicking here. A live webcast and a replay will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at https://www.investvoyager.com/investorrelations/overview.  
 
 
About Voyager Digital Ltd.
Publicly traded Voyager Digital Ltd.’s (TSX: VOYG) (OTCQX: VYGVF) (FRA: UCD2) US subsidiary, Voyager Digital, LLC, is a fast-growing, cryptocurrency platform in the United States founded in 2018 to bring choice, transparency, and cost efficiency to the marketplace. Voyager offers a secure way to trade over 85 different cryptocurrency assets using its easy-to-use mobile application and earn rewards up to 12% annually on more than 35 cryptocurrencies. Through its subsidiary Coinify ApS, Voyager provides cryptocurrency payment solutions for both consumers and merchants around the globe. To learn more about the company, please visit https://www.investvoyager.com.
 
The TSX has not approved or disapproved of the information contained herein.
 
Forward Looking Statements
Certain information in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements regarding future growth and performance of the business, momentum in the businesses, future adoption of digital assets, and the Company‘s anticipated results may constitute forward looking information (collectively, forward-looking statements), which can be identified by the use of terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate,” “intend,” “continue” or “believe” (or the negatives) or other similar variations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Voyager’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any of its future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, the future events and trends discussed in this press release may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are subject to the risk that the global economy, industry, or the Company’s businesses and investments do not perform as anticipated, that revenue or expenses estimates may not be met or may be materially less or more than those anticipated, that trading momentum does not continue or the demand for trading solutions declines, customer acquisition does not increase as planned, product and international expansion do not occur as planned, risks of compliance with laws and regulations that currently apply or become applicable to the business or the interpretation or application of laws and regulations by regulatory authorities, and those other risks contained in the Company’s public filings, including in its Management Discussion and Analysis and its Annual Information Form (AIF). Factors that could cause actual results of the Company and its businesses to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, a decline in the digital asset market or general economic conditions; changes in laws or approaches to regulation, regulatory investigations, enforcement actions or other regulatory action or sanction, the failure or delay in the adoption of digital assets and the blockchain ecosystem by institutions; changes in the volatility of crypto currency, changes in demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum, changes in the status or classification of cryptocurrency assets, cybersecurity breaches, a delay or failure in developing infrastructure for the trading businesses or achieving mandates and gaining traction; failure to grow assets under management, an adverse development with respect to an issuer or party to the transaction or failure to obtain a required regulatory approval. In connection with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, the Company has made assumptions that no significant events occur outside of the Company’s normal course of business and that current trends in respect of digital assets continue. Readers are cautioned that the key metrics disclosed in this press release, including, without limitation,  Assets Under Management and trading volumes fluctuate and may increase and decrease from time to time and that such fluctuations are beyond the Company’s control. Forward-looking statements, past and present performance and trends are not guarantees of future performance, accordingly, you should not put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, current or past performance, or current or past trends. Information identifying assumptions, risks, and uncertainties relating to the Company are contained in its filings with the Canadian securities regulators available at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements in this press release are applicable only as of the date of this release or as of the date specified in the relevant forward-looking statement and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after that date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The Company assumes no obligation to provide operational updates, except as required by law. If the Company does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements, unless required by law. Readers are cautioned that past performance is not indicative of future performance and current trends in the business and demand for digital assets may not continue and readers should not put undue reliance on past performance and current trends.  Refer to definition of certain Non-IFRS terms in Management’s Discussion and Analysis including Assets On Platform, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Working Capital.  All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.
 
SOURCE Voyager Digital, Ltd.

Press Contacts
 
Voyager Digital, Ltd.
Michael Legg
Chief Communications Officer
(212) 547-8807
mlegg@investvoyager.com

Voyager Public Relations Team
pr@investvoyager.com

 

 

Voyager Digital Schedules FYQ2 2022 Results and Business Update Conference Call

Research, News, and Market Data on Voyager Digital

 

Conference call scheduled for February 15 at 8:00 a.m. ET

Voyager Digital Ltd. (“Voyager” or the “Company”) (TSX: VOYG; OTCQX: VYGVF; FRA: UCD2), one of the fastest-growing, publicly traded cryptocurrency platforms in the United States, today announced that it will host a live webcast and conference call at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, February 15 to discuss financial results for the fiscal second quarter 2022 ended December 31, 2021.
 
To access the webcast, please register by clicking here. A live webcast and a replay will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at investvoyager.com/investorrelations/events.
 
About Voyager Digital Ltd.
Publicly traded Voyager Digital Ltd.’s (TSX: VOYG) (OTCQX: VYGVF) (FRA: UCD2) US subsidiary, Voyager Digital, LLC, is a fast-growing, cryptocurrency platform in the United States founded in 2018 to bring choice, transparency, and cost efficiency to the marketplace. Voyager offers a secure way to trade over 75 different cryptocurrency assets using its easy-to-use mobile application and earn rewards up to 12% annually on more than 35 cryptocurrencies. Through its subsidiary Coinify ApS, Voyager provides cryptocurrency payment solutions for both consumers and merchants around the globe. To learn more about the company, please visit https://www.investvoyager.com.
 
The TSX has not approved or disapproved of the information contained herein.
 
SOURCE Voyager Digital, Ltd.

Press Contacts
 
Voyager Digital, Ltd.
Michael Legg
Chief Communications Officer
(212) 547-8807
mlegg@investvoyager.com

Voyager Public Relations Team
pr@investvoyager.com

 

Voyager Digital Schedules FYQ2 2022 Results and Business Update Conference Call

Research, News, and Market Data on Voyager Digital

 

Conference call scheduled for February 15 at 8:00 a.m. ET

Voyager Digital Ltd. (“Voyager” or the “Company”) (TSX: VOYG; OTCQX: VYGVF; FRA: UCD2), one of the fastest-growing, publicly traded cryptocurrency platforms in the United States, today announced that it will host a live webcast and conference call at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, February 15 to discuss financial results for the fiscal second quarter 2022 ended December 31, 2021.
 
To access the webcast, please register by clicking here. A live webcast and a replay will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at investvoyager.com/investorrelations/events.
 
About Voyager Digital Ltd.
Publicly traded Voyager Digital Ltd.’s (TSX: VOYG) (OTCQX: VYGVF) (FRA: UCD2) US subsidiary, Voyager Digital, LLC, is a fast-growing, cryptocurrency platform in the United States founded in 2018 to bring choice, transparency, and cost efficiency to the marketplace. Voyager offers a secure way to trade over 75 different cryptocurrency assets using its easy-to-use mobile application and earn rewards up to 12% annually on more than 35 cryptocurrencies. Through its subsidiary Coinify ApS, Voyager provides cryptocurrency payment solutions for both consumers and merchants around the globe. To learn more about the company, please visit https://www.investvoyager.com.
 
The TSX has not approved or disapproved of the information contained herein.
 
SOURCE Voyager Digital, Ltd.

Press Contacts
 
Voyager Digital, Ltd.
Michael Legg
Chief Communications Officer
(212) 547-8807
mlegg@investvoyager.com

Voyager Public Relations Team
pr@investvoyager.com

Image Credit: Stock Folder (Flickr)	

Why Zuckerberg Won’t be Adding a Cryptocurrency to Meta’s Features

 

What do regulators distrust more, big tech or cryptocurrency? Facebook announced back in 2019 that it had plans to create a cryptocurrency and payment system. Regulators were immediately concerned, both in the U.S. and globally about the power, security, and reliability of the private network. This week the Meta-backed (Facebook) crypto affiliate sold its assets for $182 million and is winding down the initiative on regulators’ concerns.

The social media platforms’ stable currency and payment system project was originally called Libra. It changed the name to Diem over logo and copyright concerns. Diem was a permissioned blockchain-based stablecoin payment system. The vision also included a private currency which would have been a cryptocurrency. The launch was originally planned for 2020, but only basic experimental code had been released before this week’s sale.

U.S. Regulation

“The combination of a stablecoin issuer or wallet provider and a commercial firm could lead to an excessive concentration of economic power,” U.S. regulators said in a 2021 report. “These policy concerns are analogous to those traditionally associated with the mixing of banking and commerce, such as advantages in accessing credit or using data to market or restrict access to products,” the report said.

About the Seller and Buyer

The Diem Association was made up of partners from related businesses, including payment, technology, telecommunication, online marketplace, venture capital firms, and nonprofits. Among the original partners that dropped out under the intense scrutiny were Paypal (Nasdaq:PYPL) and Visa (NYSE:V). The currency and transactions would have been managed and cryptographically entrusted to Diem.

Diem’s technology was purchased this week by Silvergate Capital Corporation (NYSE:SI). Silvergate is a payment services company. According to its website it serves “…750 of the most recognized and well-funded digital currency exchanges, institutional investors, and software developers in fintech. As part of the purchase, Silvergate received development, deployment, and operations infrastructure, as well as tools for running a blockchain-based payment network for payments as well as cross-border wire transfers.

Diem’s CEO Stuart Levey said in a statement that the initiative made progress, but “it nevertheless became clear from our dialogue with federal regulators that the project could not move ahead.” Levey said “…a senior regulator informed us that Diem was the best-designed stablecoin project the U.S. Government had seen.”  The CEO added, “Despite giving us positive substantive feedback on the design of the network, it nevertheless became clear from our dialogue with federal regulators that the project could not move ahead. As a result, the best path forward was to sell the Diem Group’s assets, as we have done today to Silvergate.”

Take-Away

The Diem sale is not in response to the recent weakness in cryptocurrency, it’s a response to a regulatory environment that has been critical of Libra the Diem since it originated.

While Facebook’s association with Diem has ended, Silvergate has spent almost $200 million to own the assets. Silvergate or another company could revive the project. It was the concerns over the breadth and power of Meta that prevented progress on the regulatory front. The Diem Association was considered more transparent and regulator-friendly than many existing stablecoins.

Paul Hoffman

Managing Editor, Channelchek

 

Suggested Reading

Expanded Blockchain Adoption and Adaptation in 2022

Walmart’s Metaverse, NFT, and Crypto Plans

Bombshells from Musk, Dorsey, and Wood at Bitcoin Conference

The Benefits of DeFi

 

Sources

https://www.diem.com/en-us/

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-facebook-crypto-diem-sold-pushback.html

https://www.engadget.com/facebook-backed-diem-association-sale-234147500.html

https://www.silvergate.com/solutions/digital-currency

 

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Voyager Digital Announces Participation in February Investor Events

Research, News, and Market Data on Voyager Digital

 

Voyager Digital Ltd. (“Voyager” or the “Company”) (TSX: VOYG; OTCQX: VYGVF; FRA: UCD2) today announced the Company’s participation in the following investor events in February 2022:

February 15th – Canaccord Genuity Digital Assets Symposium

February 22nd – Bernstein Crypto and Digital Currencies Fireside Chat

February 24th – Singular Emerging Growth & Value Alpha Leaders

For more information about investor events that Voyager will be participating in, please visit www.investvoyager.com/investorrelations/events.  

About Voyager Digital Ltd.

Publicly traded Voyager Digital Ltd.’s (TSX: VOYG) (OTCQX: VYGVF) (FRA: UCD2) US subsidiary, Voyager Digital, LLC, is a fast-growing, cryptocurrency platform in the United States founded in 2018 to bring choice, transparency, and cost efficiency to the marketplace. Voyager offers a secure way to trade over 75 different cryptocurrency assets using its easy-to-use mobile application and earn rewards up to 12% annually on more than 35 cryptocurrencies. Through its subsidiary Coinify ApS, Voyager provides cryptocurrency payment solutions for both consumers and merchants around the globe. To learn more about the company, please visit https://www.investvoyager.com.

The TSX has not approved or disapproved of the information contained herein.

SOURCE Voyager Digital, Ltd.

Press Contacts

Voyager Digital, Ltd.

Michael Legg
Chief Communications Officer
(212) 547-8807
mlegg@investvoyager.com

Voyager Public Relations Team
pr@investvoyager.com

 

Voyager Digital Announces Participation in February Investor Events

Research, News, and Market Data on Voyager Digital

 

Voyager Digital Ltd. (“Voyager” or the “Company”) (TSX: VOYG; OTCQX: VYGVF; FRA: UCD2) today announced the Company’s participation in the following investor events in February 2022:

February 15th – Canaccord Genuity Digital Assets Symposium

February 22nd – Bernstein Crypto and Digital Currencies Fireside Chat

February 24th – Singular Emerging Growth & Value Alpha Leaders

For more information about investor events that Voyager will be participating in, please visit www.investvoyager.com/investorrelations/events.  

About Voyager Digital Ltd.

Publicly traded Voyager Digital Ltd.’s (TSX: VOYG) (OTCQX: VYGVF) (FRA: UCD2) US subsidiary, Voyager Digital, LLC, is a fast-growing, cryptocurrency platform in the United States founded in 2018 to bring choice, transparency, and cost efficiency to the marketplace. Voyager offers a secure way to trade over 75 different cryptocurrency assets using its easy-to-use mobile application and earn rewards up to 12% annually on more than 35 cryptocurrencies. Through its subsidiary Coinify ApS, Voyager provides cryptocurrency payment solutions for both consumers and merchants around the globe. To learn more about the company, please visit https://www.investvoyager.com.

The TSX has not approved or disapproved of the information contained herein.

SOURCE Voyager Digital, Ltd.

Press Contacts

Voyager Digital, Ltd.

Michael Legg
Chief Communications Officer
(212) 547-8807
mlegg@investvoyager.com

Voyager Public Relations Team
pr@investvoyager.com

Comtech Unveils Breakthrough Next Generation ELEVATE™ VSAT Platform

Research, News, and Market Data on Comtech Telecommunications

 

MELVILLE, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 31, 2022– 
January 31, 2022—
Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (NASDAQ: CMTL), a leading global provider of next-generation 911 emergency systems and secure wireless communications technologies, today unveiled Comtech ELEVATE™, a breakthrough next generation Very Small Aperture Terminal (“VSAT”) technology solution. Designed to meet the evolving communications demands of a broad range of markets, Comtech ELEVATE™ is an all-inclusive highly intelligent, modular platform capable of supporting both small and large networks across any GEO, MEO or LEO satellite orbit.

“Our new Comtech ELEVATE™ VSAT platform delivers unprecedented network flexibility and scalability to support a broad range of applications and markets, from broadcast and government to mobility and enterprise, using a single intelligent system,” said  Michael Porcelain, Chief Executive Officer and President of 
Comtech. “ELEVATE™ is the next step in Comtech’s long-term plan to exploit the growing business opportunities in the satellite ground station market. Alongside our high quality and field-proven HEIGHTS™ and UHP satellite networking platforms, 
Comtech can now offer customers a full-range of satellite networking products at a price and feature set that best meets their needs.”

Designed from the ground up, Comtech ELEVATE™ is a smart software-defined VSAT solution Designed to Make it Happen™. Bringing together the best of Comtech’s award-winning HEIGHTS™ Dynamic Network Access (“H-DNA”) and Comtech’s revolutionary and industry-leading UHP MF-TDMA waveform flexibility and efficiency, Comtech ELEVATE™ features a new D-RAM (“Dynamic Return Access Modes”) protocol with dynamic seamless switching between H-DNA and MF-TDMA waveforms using the same pool of bandwidth and industry-leading data throughput in both Forward and Return channels. The Comtech ELEVATE™ solution is designed to enable private or shared VSAT networks of any size and topology, has unlimited potential for future development and can be deployed for every application imaginable. Comtech’s ELEVATE™ features include:

• Ability to scale from very small networks to very large networks including supporting more than 500,000 remote sites,

• Actual Maximum Forward link capacity at 2.5 Gbps per service area,

• The Highest Return Link throughput in the industry at 200 Mbps per remote,

• Compact remote VSAT handling up to 200,000 packets per second,

• Highest processing density in Hubs or Remotes per watt of consumed prime power, and

• An advanced and highly efficient Network Management System that can support a rich variety of Operations Support System (“OSS”) and Business Support System (“BSS”) interfaces.

Because it features virtualized components and capabilities, sophisticated data protocols and cloud-based expansion, Comtech ELEVATE™ offers the best overall industry-wide performance for satellite cellular backhaul (including 4G and 5G cellular networks) and transmission of voice, video and data for the Internet of Things (“IoT”).

Comtech ELEVATE™ provides more power, speed, agility, and efficiencies that addresses a new level of requirements to meet the highest Quality of Experience (“QOE”) with market leading affordability, footprint and low power consumption. Service providers and mobile network operators will be able to deploy and manage a single platform to support small bandwidth applications, such as IoT applications in connected agriculture or ATM banking networks, while simultaneously enabling more megabit-hungry services, like cellular backhaul, gaming and video, over the same platform.

More information including a video presentation about Comtech ELEVATE™ can be found here: https://www.comtech.com/elevate.html

About Comtech

Comtech Telecommunications Corp. is a leading global provider of next-generation 911 emergency systems and secure wireless communications technologies to commercial and government customers around the world. Headquartered in 
Melville, New York and with a passion for customer success, 
Comtech designs, produces and markets advanced and secure wireless solutions. For more information, please visit www.comtechtel.com (and preview our new web site coming soon at www.comtech.com).

Certain information in this press release contains statements that are forward-looking in nature and involve certain significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from such forward-looking information. The Company’s 
Securities and Exchange Commission filings identify many such risks and uncertainties. Any forward-looking information in this press release is qualified in its entirety by the risks and uncertainties described in such 
Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Comtech Investor Relations:
631-962-7005
investors@comtech.com

Media Contact:
Rosario Toxqui, Director Marketing for Comtech Satellite Networks
514-686-6103
rosario.toxqui@comtech.com

Source: 
Comtech Telecommunications Corp.

Comtech Unveils Breakthrough Next Generation ELEVATE™ VSAT Platform

Research, News, and Market Data on Comtech Telecommunications

 

MELVILLE, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 31, 2022– 
January 31, 2022—
Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (NASDAQ: CMTL), a leading global provider of next-generation 911 emergency systems and secure wireless communications technologies, today unveiled Comtech ELEVATE™, a breakthrough next generation Very Small Aperture Terminal (“VSAT”) technology solution. Designed to meet the evolving communications demands of a broad range of markets, Comtech ELEVATE™ is an all-inclusive highly intelligent, modular platform capable of supporting both small and large networks across any GEO, MEO or LEO satellite orbit.

“Our new Comtech ELEVATE™ VSAT platform delivers unprecedented network flexibility and scalability to support a broad range of applications and markets, from broadcast and government to mobility and enterprise, using a single intelligent system,” said  Michael Porcelain, Chief Executive Officer and President of 
Comtech. “ELEVATE™ is the next step in Comtech’s long-term plan to exploit the growing business opportunities in the satellite ground station market. Alongside our high quality and field-proven HEIGHTS™ and UHP satellite networking platforms, 
Comtech can now offer customers a full-range of satellite networking products at a price and feature set that best meets their needs.”

Designed from the ground up, Comtech ELEVATE™ is a smart software-defined VSAT solution Designed to Make it Happen™. Bringing together the best of Comtech’s award-winning HEIGHTS™ Dynamic Network Access (“H-DNA”) and Comtech’s revolutionary and industry-leading UHP MF-TDMA waveform flexibility and efficiency, Comtech ELEVATE™ features a new D-RAM (“Dynamic Return Access Modes”) protocol with dynamic seamless switching between H-DNA and MF-TDMA waveforms using the same pool of bandwidth and industry-leading data throughput in both Forward and Return channels. The Comtech ELEVATE™ solution is designed to enable private or shared VSAT networks of any size and topology, has unlimited potential for future development and can be deployed for every application imaginable. Comtech’s ELEVATE™ features include:

• Ability to scale from very small networks to very large networks including supporting more than 500,000 remote sites,

• Actual Maximum Forward link capacity at 2.5 Gbps per service area,

• The Highest Return Link throughput in the industry at 200 Mbps per remote,

• Compact remote VSAT handling up to 200,000 packets per second,

• Highest processing density in Hubs or Remotes per watt of consumed prime power, and

• An advanced and highly efficient Network Management System that can support a rich variety of Operations Support System (“OSS”) and Business Support System (“BSS”) interfaces.

Because it features virtualized components and capabilities, sophisticated data protocols and cloud-based expansion, Comtech ELEVATE™ offers the best overall industry-wide performance for satellite cellular backhaul (including 4G and 5G cellular networks) and transmission of voice, video and data for the Internet of Things (“IoT”).

Comtech ELEVATE™ provides more power, speed, agility, and efficiencies that addresses a new level of requirements to meet the highest Quality of Experience (“QOE”) with market leading affordability, footprint and low power consumption. Service providers and mobile network operators will be able to deploy and manage a single platform to support small bandwidth applications, such as IoT applications in connected agriculture or ATM banking networks, while simultaneously enabling more megabit-hungry services, like cellular backhaul, gaming and video, over the same platform.

More information including a video presentation about Comtech ELEVATE™ can be found here: https://www.comtech.com/elevate.html

About Comtech

Comtech Telecommunications Corp. is a leading global provider of next-generation 911 emergency systems and secure wireless communications technologies to commercial and government customers around the world. Headquartered in 
Melville, New York and with a passion for customer success, 
Comtech designs, produces and markets advanced and secure wireless solutions. For more information, please visit www.comtechtel.com (and preview our new web site coming soon at www.comtech.com).

Certain information in this press release contains statements that are forward-looking in nature and involve certain significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from such forward-looking information. The Company’s 
Securities and Exchange Commission filings identify many such risks and uncertainties. Any forward-looking information in this press release is qualified in its entirety by the risks and uncertainties described in such 
Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Comtech Investor Relations:
631-962-7005
investors@comtech.com

Media Contact:
Rosario Toxqui, Director Marketing for Comtech Satellite Networks
514-686-6103
rosario.toxqui@comtech.com

Source: 
Comtech Telecommunications Corp.

Thursday, January 27, 2022

Comtech (CMTL)
Rejects Acacia Offer

Comtech Telecommunications Corp. engages in the design, development, production, and marketing of products, systems, and services for advanced communications solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Telecommunications Transmission, Mobile Data Communications, and RF Microwave Amplifiers. The Telecommunications Transmission segment provides satellite earth station equipment and systems, over-the-horizon microwave systems, and forward error correction technology, which are used in various commercial and government applications, including backhaul of wireless and cellular traffic, broadcasting (including HDTV), IP-based communications traffic, long distance telephony, and secure defense applications. The Mobile Data Communications segment provides mobile satellite transceivers, and computers and satellite earth station network gateways and associated installation, training, and maintenance services; supplies and operates satellite packet data networks, including arranging and providing satellite capacity; and offers microsatellites and related components. The RF Microwave Amplifiers segment designs, develops, manufactures, and markets satellite earth station traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTA) and broadband amplifiers. Its amplifiers are used in broadcast and broadband satellite communication; defense applications, such as telecommunications systems and electronic warfare systems; and commercial applications comprising oncology treatment systems, as well as to amplify signals carrying voice, video, or data for air-to-satellite-to-ground communications. The company serves satellite systems integrators, wireless and other communication service providers, broadcasters, defense contractors, military, governments, and oil companies. Comtech markets its products through independent representatives and value-added resellers. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Melville, New York.

Joe Gomes, Senior Research Analyst, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Joshua Zoepfel, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

Rejects Acacia. Comtech’s Board has unanimously rejected Acacia Research Corporation’s October 29th offer to purchase Comtech for $30 per share. Comtech’s new Board, including a representative from Outerbridge, concluded Acacia’s offer “grossly undervalues the Company and is not in the best interest of Comtech’s shareholders.”


Not A Surprise.  We are not surprised by the rejection as, at the time of the offer announcement, we had noted that Outerbridge had originally valued Comtech in the $32-$41 range and subsequently had valued Comtech’s NG911 business alone as worth more than its previously stated range …

This Company Sponsored Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary.  Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision. 

“Hey, Alexa! Are You Trustworthy?”

 

Adam Zewe | MIT News
Office

A family gathers around their kitchen island to unbox the digital assistant they just purchased. They will be more likely to trust this new voice-user interface, which might be a smart speaker like Amazon’s Alexa or a social robot like Jibo, if it exhibits some humanlike social behaviors, according to a new study by researchers in MIT’s Media Lab.

The researchers found that family members tend to think a device is more competent and emotionally engaging if it can exhibit social cues, like moving to orient its gaze at a speaking person. In addition, their study revealed that branding — specifically, whether the manufacturer’s name is associated with the device — has a significant effect on how members of a family perceive and interact with different voice-user interfaces.

When a device has a higher level of social embodiment, such as the ability to give verbal and nonverbal social cues through motion or expression, family members increase their interaction. They also interacted with one another more frequently while engaging with the device as a group.

These results could help designers create voice-user interfaces that are more engaging and more likely to be used by members of a family in the home, while also improving the transparency of these devices. The researchers also outline ethical concerns that could come from certain personality and embodiment designs.

“These devices are new technology coming into the home and they are still very under-explored,” says Anastasia Ostrowski, a research assistant in the Personal Robotics Group in the Media Lab, and lead author of the paper. “Families are in the home, so we were very interested in looking at this from a generational approach, including children and grandparents. It was super interesting for us to understand how people are perceiving these, and how families interact with these devices together.”

“The human-centered insights of this work are relevant to the design of all kinds of personified AI devices, from smart speakers and intelligent agents to personal robots,” says Breazeal.

Investigating Interactions

This work grew out of an earlier study where the researchers explored how people use voice-user interfaces at home. At the start of the study, users familiarized themselves with three devices before taking one home for a month. The researchers noticed that people spent more time interacting with a Jibo social robot than they did the smart speakers, Amazon Alexa and Google Home. They wondered why people engaged more with the social robot.

To get to the bottom of this, they designed three experiments that involved family members interacting as a group with different voice-user interfaces. Thirty-four families, comprising 92 people between age 4 and 69, participated in the studies.

The experiments were designed to mimic a family’s first encounter with a voice-user interface. Families were video recorded as they interacted with three devices, working through a list of 24 actions (like “ask about the weather” or “try to learn the agent’s opinions”). Then they answered questions about their perception of the devices and categorized the voice-user interfaces’ personalities.

In the first experiment, participants interacted with a Jibo robot, Amazon Echo, and Google Home, with no modifications. Most found the Jibo to be far more outgoing, dependable, and sympathetic. Because the users perceived that Jibo had a more humanlike personality, they were more likely to interact with it, Ostrowski explains.

 

An Unexpected Result

In the second experiment, researchers set out to understand how branding affected participants’ perspectives. They changed the “wake word” (the word the user says aloud to engage the device) of the Amazon Echo to “Hey, Amazon!” instead of “Hey, Alexa!,” but kept the “wake word” the same for the Google Home (“Hey, Google!”) and the Jibo robot (“Hey, Jibo!”). They also provided participants with information about each manufacturer. When branding was taken into account, users viewed Google as more trustworthy than Amazon, despite the fact that the devices were very similar in design and functionality.

“It also drastically changed how much people thought the Amazon device was competent or like a companion,” Ostrowski says. “I was not expecting it to have that big of a difference between the first and second study. We didn’t change any of the abilities, how they function, or how they respond. Just the fact that they were aware the device is made by Amazon made a huge difference in their perceptions.”

Changing the “wake word” of a device can have ethical implications. A personified name, which can make a device seem more social, could mislead users by masking the connection between the device and the company that made it, which is also the company that now has access to the user’s data, she says.

In the third experiment, the team wanted to see how interpersonal movement affected the interactions. For instance, the Jibo robot turns its gaze to the individual who is speaking. For this study, the researchers used the Jibo along with an Amazon Echo Show (a rectangular screen) with the modified wake word “Hey, Computer,” and an Amazon Echo Spot (a sphere with a circular screen) that had a rotating flag on top which sped up when someone called its wake word, “Hey, Alexa!”

Users found the modified Amazon Echo Spot to be no more engaging than the Amazon Echo Show, suggesting that repetitive movement without social embodiment may not be an effective way to increase user engagement, Ostrowski says.

 

Fostering Deeper Relationships

Deeper analysis of the third study also revealed that users interacted more among themselves, like glancing at each other, laughing together, or having side conversations, when the device they were engaging with had more social abilities.

“In the home, we have been wondering how these systems promote engagement between users. That is always a big concern for people: How are these devices going to shape people’s relationships? We want to design systems that can promote a more flourishing relationship between people,” Ostrowski says.

The researchers used their insights to lay out several voice-user interface design considerations, including the importance of developing warm, outgoing, and thoughtful personalities; understanding how the wake word influences user acceptance; and conveying nonverbal social cues through movement.

With these results in hand, the researchers want to continue exploring how families engage with voice-user interfaces that have varying levels of functionality. For instance, they might conduct a study with three different social robots. They would also like to replicate these studies in a real-world environment and explore which design features are best suited for specific interactions.

 

This article originally appeared in MIT News on January 14, 2022 and has been Shared by Permission. Coauthors include Vasiliki Zygouras, a recent Wellesley College graduate working in the Personal Robotics Group at the time of this research; Research Scientist Hae Won Park; Cornell University graduate student Jenny Fu; and senior author Cynthia Breazeal, professor of media arts and sciences, director of MIT RAISE, and director of the Personal Robotics Group, as well as a developer of the Jibo robot. The paper is published in Frontiers in Robotics and AI.

 

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	Source: MIT Researchers

Study Reveals Plunge in Lithium-ion Battery Costs

 

David L. Chandler | MIT News Office

 

The cost of the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used for phones, laptops, and cars has fallen dramatically over the last three decades and has been a major driver of the rapid growth of those technologies. But attempting to quantify that cost decline has produced ambiguous and conflicting results that have hampered attempts to project the technology’s future or devise useful policies and research priorities.

Now, MIT researchers have carried out an exhaustive analysis of the studies that have looked at the decline in the prices of these batteries, which are the dominant rechargeable technology in today’s world. The new study looks back over three decades, including analyzing the original underlying datasets and documents whenever possible, to arrive at a clear picture of the technology’s trajectory.

The researchers found that the cost of these batteries has dropped by 97 percent since they were first commercially introduced in 1991. This rate of improvement is much faster than many analysts had claimed and is comparable to that of solar photovoltaic panels, which some had considered to be an exceptional case. The new findings are reported today in the journal Energy and Environmental Science, in a paper by MIT postdoc Micah Ziegler and Associate Professor Jessika Trancik.

While it’s clear that there have been dramatic cost declines in some clean-energy technologies such as solar and wind, Trancik says, when they started to look into the decline in prices for lithium-ion batteries, “we saw that there was substantial disagreement as to how quickly the costs of these technologies had come down.” Similar disagreements showed up in tracing other important aspects of battery development, such as the ever-improving energy density (energy stored within a given volume) and specific energy (energy stored within a given mass).

“These trends are so consequential for getting us to where we are right now, and also for thinking about what could happen in the future,” says Trancik, who is an associate professor in MIT’s Institute for Data, Systems and Society. While it was common knowledge that the decline in battery costs was an enabler of the recent growth in sales of electric vehicles, for example, it was unclear just how great that decline had been. Through this detailed analysis, she says, “we were able to confirm that yes, lithium-ion battery technologies have improved in terms of their costs, at rates that are comparable to solar energy technology, and specifically photovoltaic modules, which are often held up as kind of the gold standard in clean energy innovation.”

It may seem odd that there was such great uncertainty and disagreement about how much lithium-ion battery costs had declined and what factors accounted for it, but in fact, much of the information is in the form of closely held corporate data that is difficult for researchers to access. Most lithium-ion batteries are not sold directly to consumers — you can’t run down to your typical corner drugstore to pick up a replacement battery for your iPhone, your PC, or your electric car. Instead, manufacturers buy lithium-ion batteries and build them into electronics and cars. Large companies like Apple or Tesla buy batteries by the millions, or manufacture them themselves for prices that are negotiated or internally accounted for but never publicly disclosed.

In addition to helping to boost the ongoing electrification of transportation, further declines in lithium-ion battery costs could potentially also increase the batteries’ usage in stationary applications as a way of compensating for the intermittent supply of clean energy sources such as solar and wind. Both applications could play a significant role in helping to curb the world’s emissions of climate-altering greenhouse gases. “I can’t overstate the importance of these trends in clean energy innovation for getting us to where we are right now, where it starts to look like we could see rapid electrification of vehicles and we are seeing the rapid growth of renewable energy technologies,” Trancik says. “Of course, there’s so much more to do to address climate change, but this has really been a game-changer.”

The new findings are not just a matter of retracing the history of battery development but of helping to guide the future, Ziegler points out. Combing through all of the published literature on the subject of the cost reductions in lithium-ion cells, he found “very different measures of the historical improvement. And across a variety of different papers, researchers were using these trends to make suggestions about how to further reduce costs of lithium-ion technologies or when they might meet cost targets.” But because the underlying data varied so much, “the recommendations that the researchers were making could be quite different.” Some studies suggested that lithium-ion batteries would not fall in cost quickly enough for certain applications, while others were much more optimistic. Such differences in data can ultimately have a real impact on the setting of research priorities and government incentives.

The researchers dug into the original sources of the published data, in some cases finding that certain primary data had been used in multiple studies that were later cited as separate sources or that the original data sources had been lost along the way. And while most studies have focused only on the cost, Ziegler says it became clear that such a one-dimensional analysis might underestimate how quickly lithium-ion technologies improved; in addition to cost, weight and volume are also key factors for both vehicles and portable electronics. So, the team added a second track to the study, analyzing the improvements in these parameters as well.

“Lithium-ion batteries were not adopted because they were the least expensive technology at the time,” Ziegler says. “There were less expensive battery technologies available. Lithium-ion technology was adopted because it allows you to put portable electronics into your hand, because it allows you to make power tools that last longer and have more power, and it allows us to build cars” that can provide adequate driving range. “It felt like just looking at dollars per kilowatt-hour was only telling part of the story,” he says.

That broader analysis helps to define what may be possible in the future, he adds: “We’re saying that lithium-ion technologies might improve more quickly for certain applications than would be projected by just looking at one measure of performance. By looking at multiple measures, you get essentially a clearer picture of the improvement rate, and this suggests that they could maybe improve more rapidly for applications where the restrictions on mass and volume are relaxed.”

Trancik adds the new study can play an important role in energy-related policymaking. “Published data trends on the few clean technologies that have seen major cost reductions over time, wind, solar, and now lithium-ion batteries, tend to be referenced over and over again, and not only in academic papers but in policy documents and industry reports,” she says. “Many important climate policy conclusions are based on these few trends. For this reason, it is important to get them right. There’s a real need to treat the data with care, and to raise our game overall in dealing with technology data and tracking these trends.”

“Battery costs determine price parity of electric vehicles with internal combustion engine vehicles,” says Venkat Viswanathan, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, who was not associated with this work. “Thus, projecting battery cost declines is probably one of the most critical challenges in ensuring an accurate understanding of adoption of electric vehicles.”

Viswanathan adds that “the finding that cost declines may occur faster than previously thought will enable broader adoption, increasing volumes, and leading to further cost declines. … The datasets curated, analyzed and released with this paper will have a lasting impact on the community.”

 

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Voyager Digital CEO Withdraws Automatic Securities Disposition Plan

Research, News, and Market Data on Voyager Digital

 

Voyager Digital Ltd. (“Voyager” or the “Company”) (TSX: VOYG; OTCQB: VYGVF; FRA: UCD2) one of the fastest-growing, publicly traded cryptocurrency platforms in the United States, today announced that Stephen Ehrlich, CEO and Director, has withdrawn the automatic securities disposition plan (“ASDP”) that was previously announced on December 31, 2021. No shares have been sold under the plan. The ASDP will, in accordance with its terms, terminate 30 days from the date of this press release.
 
Commenting on the withdrawal, Mr. Ehrlich noted, “Despite having a floor significantly above the current stock price, I felt it was in the best interest of the investors to withdraw the plan.” Ehrlich continued, “Based on our key financial metrics, including revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 as disclosed in our press release issued January 5, 2022, I believe Voyager is undervalued and am excited about our product growth and expanded capabilities planned for 2022, including our NFT offering, debit card rollout, international expansion and more.
 
About Voyager Digital Ltd.

Publicly traded Voyager Digital Ltd.’s (TSX: VOYG) (OTCQB: VYGVF) (FRA: UCD2) US subsidiary, Voyager Digital, LLC, is a fast-growing, cryptocurrency platform in the United States founded in 2018 to bring choice, transparency, and cost efficiency to the marketplace. Voyager offers a secure way to trade over 70 different cryptocurrency assets using its easy-to-use mobile application and earn rewards up to 12% annually on more than 35 cryptocurrencies. Through its subsidiary Coinify ApS, Voyager provides cryptocurrency payment solutions for both consumers and merchants around the globe.

To learn more about the company, please visit https://www.investvoyager.com.

The TSX has not approved or disapproved of the information contained herein.

SOURCE Voyager Digital, Ltd.

Press Contacts

Voyager Digital, Ltd.

Michael Legg
Chief Communications Officer
(212) 547-8807
mlegg@investvoyager.com

Voyager Public Relations Team
pr@investvoyager.com

 

Voyager Digital CEO Withdraws Automatic Securities Disposition Plan

Research, News, and Market Data on Voyager Digital

 

Voyager Digital Ltd. (“Voyager” or the “Company”) (TSX: VOYG; OTCQB: VYGVF; FRA: UCD2) one of the fastest-growing, publicly traded cryptocurrency platforms in the United States, today announced that Stephen Ehrlich, CEO and Director, has withdrawn the automatic securities disposition plan (“ASDP”) that was previously announced on December 31, 2021. No shares have been sold under the plan. The ASDP will, in accordance with its terms, terminate 30 days from the date of this press release.
 
Commenting on the withdrawal, Mr. Ehrlich noted, “Despite having a floor significantly above the current stock price, I felt it was in the best interest of the investors to withdraw the plan.” Ehrlich continued, “Based on our key financial metrics, including revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 as disclosed in our press release issued January 5, 2022, I believe Voyager is undervalued and am excited about our product growth and expanded capabilities planned for 2022, including our NFT offering, debit card rollout, international expansion and more.
 
About Voyager Digital Ltd.

Publicly traded Voyager Digital Ltd.’s (TSX: VOYG) (OTCQB: VYGVF) (FRA: UCD2) US subsidiary, Voyager Digital, LLC, is a fast-growing, cryptocurrency platform in the United States founded in 2018 to bring choice, transparency, and cost efficiency to the marketplace. Voyager offers a secure way to trade over 70 different cryptocurrency assets using its easy-to-use mobile application and earn rewards up to 12% annually on more than 35 cryptocurrencies. Through its subsidiary Coinify ApS, Voyager provides cryptocurrency payment solutions for both consumers and merchants around the globe.

To learn more about the company, please visit https://www.investvoyager.com.

The TSX has not approved or disapproved of the information contained herein.

SOURCE Voyager Digital, Ltd.

Press Contacts

Voyager Digital, Ltd.

Michael Legg
Chief Communications Officer
(212) 547-8807
mlegg@investvoyager.com

Voyager Public Relations Team
pr@investvoyager.com