PARIS & SHANGHAI--()--4G chipmaker Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE: SQNS) announced that its chips are powering a significant portion of the LTE devices to be used in the next phase of China Mobile’s large-scale trial of TD-LTE technology in China. Two of Sequans’ device manufacturer partners, Nationz and Primemobi, were awarded portions of the contract as recently announced by China Mobile. Prior to the contract awards, Sequans participated in a lengthy qualification process whereby numerous leading local and international chip and device makers underwent deep technical evaluation conducted by China Mobile and China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Sequans has been developing TD-LTE chips for more than two years and has provided technology to China Mobile since the operator’s first public demonstration of a TD-LTE network in 2010 and for both phases of its large-scale commercial trial that began in 2011. In the next phase of the trial, beginning in Q4 and continuing through Q2 of 2013, China Mobile will deploy 20,000 TD-LTE base stations and extend its network to 13 cities in China.
“We are very pleased to continue our long collaboration with China Mobile, developing TD-LTE for the benefit of Chinese consumers,” said Georges Karam, Sequans CEO. “China Mobile’s leadership in pioneering TD-LTE and its strategic rollout of trial networks in China has proven that TD-LTE is truly ready for prime time and we look forward to full commercial deployment in China.”
Sequans technology is operating in the China Mobile network expansion in several devices, including USB dongles, mobile routers and CPE, manufactured by Nationz and Primemobi. Nationz is China’s leading provider of RF chips and wireless devices and a company with whom Sequans has been working to develop dual-mode TD-LTE / TD-SCDMA devices for many months. Primemobi is a leading cloud computing service provider and advanced end-to-end systems integrator.
“The use of Sequans’ excellent LTE chip technology has contributed to our development of advanced and powerful TD-LTE consumer devices for China Mobile’s network expansion,” said Bin Zhang, VP of Nationz. “Sequans has good experience in China and has been at the forefront of TD-LTE development here.”
“Sequans provides a robust and mature TD-LTE solution,” said Tao Wang, COO of Primemobi, “We are very pleased to integrate the high quality Sequans-powered devices in our customer solutions.”
Sequans’ LTE semiconductor solutions support global LTE networks, TDD and FDD, and multiple device types for a truly universal solution.
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About Sequans Communications
Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE: SQNS) is a 4G chipmaker, supplying LTE and WiMAX chips to original equipment manufacturers and original design manufacturers worldwide. Founded in 2003 to address the WiMAX market, the company expanded in early 2009 to address the LTE market. Sequans is based in Paris, France with additional offices throughout the world, including United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and China. Visit Sequans online at www.sequans.com; www.facebook.com/sequans; www.twitter.com/sequans