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Greenpacket, P1 and Sequans collaborate on LTE solutions
PARIS, France and KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – July 21, 2011 – 4G chipmaker Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE: SQNS), Southeast Asia’s first and leading 4G operator, Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (P1), and global 4G networking solutions provider, Greenpacket, are working together to develop LTE solutions, including dual-mode 4G WiMAX/LTE solutions for Greenpacket’s global operator customers, including P1, its operator subsidiary in Malaysia. Greenpacket is testing Sequans technology to develop LTE and dual-mode WiMAX/LTE reference designs as part of its strategy to launch a complete ecosystem of 4G networking solutions and devices by the end of 2011.
“We are testing Sequans’ system-on-chip technology to develop LTE reference designs, including a dual-mode WiMAX/LTE reference design for our operator customers primarily in Asia, CALA and Middle East,” said, James Wang, Senior Vice President of Innovation, Strategies and Development (ISD) at Greenpacket. “We intend to offer our solutions to early adopters of LTE such as P1 in support of its LTE/WiMAX coexistence strategy.”
“As Southeast Asia’s leading 4G operator, first for WiMAX and now for dual-mode WiMAX and LTE, P1 has three years of experience operating an end-to-end 4G network,” said Michael Lai, P1 CEO. “The insight we’ve gained regarding live 4G user behavior patterns is extremely valuable in LTE development, be it devices, network or applications. We are collaborating with Sequans because of Sequans’ operator-proven WiMAX and LTE chipset technology and because of the company’s real-world experience in deploying operator-certified 4G technology in high volume around the world.”
P1 launched its WiMAX service in Malaysia in August 2008 and is now preparing to transition to LTE. P1 earlier announced its strategic direction to harness the power of both WiMAX and LTE, due to developing global LTE momentum, expects to begin a transition to a full LTE network in 2013.
The technology Sequans is providing to Greenpacket and P1 for testing is part of Sequans’ recently announced 4Sight program, a collection of advanced coexistence technologies and solutions for operators to help them transition smoothly and cost-effectively from WiMAX to LTE and enable harmonious WiMAX/LTE coexistence. Sequans develops and supplies WiMAX and LTE chips including a highly integrated WiMAX/LTE dual-mode chip, along with reference designs for user devices, essential multi-radio coexistence and multimode handover technologies, and dual-standby architecture.
“Greenpacket and P1 are taking a leading position in the 4G world by establishing a dual-4G network while they transition to LTE and this will benefit not only P1 and its customers, but also other operators who adopt this strategy,” said Georges Karam, Sequans CEO. “P1 now has the flexibility to rollout LTE at the rate they choose and have it coexist peacefully with WiMAX, and P1 customers will have devices that work in any part of the network at any time.”
P1 continues to make progress in building out its 4G network and expects to have 65 percent of the population covered by the end of 2012.