LEUVEN, BELGIUM -- 08/28/08 --
World's first 5.76 Mbps-capable HSUPA device supports 900 MHz
frequency bands
Leuven, Belgium - August 28, 2008 - Option N.V. (EURONEXT Brussels:
OPTI; OTC: OPNVY), the wireless technology company, today announced
that it started shipping a new, stylish and high performance wireless
broadband ExpressCard to Vodafone.
Exclusively developed for the Vodafone Group and its Partner
Networks, the new ExpressCard is designed to achieve peak HSDPA
download speeds of 7.2 Mbps with HSUPA uploads at up to 5.76 Mbps -
depending on the network availability. This is the first commercial
device in the market based on Qualcomm's state-of-the-art MSM7225
chipset. The new ExpressCard offers the best combination of upload
and download speeds available today, and uniquely, can support high
speeds in downlink and uplink concurrently. Customers and network
operators are demanding higher speeds for the improved
user-experience when accessing social networks, posting content and
videos to blogs and websites such as YouTube and Wikipedia, and using
applications such as real-time location services.
The ExpressCard also sets a new benchmark by supporting HSDPA and
HSUPA in the 900 MHz band. This extra band satisfies a growing need
among mobile operators, especially in Europe and Australia, who are
using the band to upgrade their legacy 2G networks to 3G in order to
improve mobile broadband coverage in buildings and to extend the
reach of their broadband offerings in rural areas.
"The development program for this new product was based on Option's
long-standing relationship with the Vodafone Group. A stylish design
is important for mass-market appeal, while the unprecedented growth
of voice and data traffic in the 2100Mhz band is making HSPA support
in the 900 MHz band a commercial imperative. Our new device is the
first commercially available HSPA ExpressCard in the world to
incorporate support for that 900Mhz band," said Jan Callewaert, CEO
of Option.
Initial shipments have been delivered to Elisa, the Vodafone partner
network in Finland and the world's first commercial 3G HSPA 900 MHz
operator. Other operators within the Vodafone Group of Companies are
also planning commercial roll-outs of the new device.
High resolution pictures of the Vodafone ExpressCard are available
at:
www.option.com/expresscard/vodafone
For the PDF version of the press release in English or in Dutch,
please click on the link below:
Option ships HSPA ExpressCard designed exclusively for Vodafone:
http://hugin.info/133962/R/1246674/269640.pdf
Option levert exclusief voor Vodafone ontworpen HSPA ExpressCard:
http://hugin.info/133962/R/1246674/269748.pdf
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