PARIS, France and CUPERTINO, Calif. -- SEQUANS Communications, a leading supplier and developer of fixed and mobile WiMAX semiconductor solutions, announced its cooperation with Alcatel to bring Universal WiMAX 802.16e-2005 to high growth economies.

The cooperation will enable the production, starting Q2 2007, of low-cost end user devices based on Sequans' chips and tailored to the growing need of broadband access in developing countries. This will allow end-users with low average income to benefit from broadband services at an affordable price.

Alcatel's leadership in advanced antenna technology combined with Sequans' leadership in feature rich, high performance WiMAX silicon, lowers the overall cost per user of WiMAX networks by significantly improving coverage and capacity and enabling cost-optimized CPE.

"Sequans is a leading provider of WiMAX semiconductors and the capabilities of their chips allow for the development of very cost-effective fixed, nomadic, or mobile WiMAX CPE," said Sylvie Richir, vice president of Alcatel's broadband wireless access business. "Through its open CPE policy for end user devices and its "Broadband for All" program, Alcatel is committed to the wide scale deployment of Universal WiMAX 802.16e-2005 and Sequans' technology will help us get low-cost devices into the hands of consumers quickly."

"The market for WiMAX is developing quickly all around the globe and we are proud to be associated with the worldwide leader in broadband deployment and a leading WiMAX player," said Georges Karam, Sequans' CEO. "The world's high growth markets such as India will benefit tremendously from the deployment of WiMAX networks and we are pleased to contribute to Alcatel's Universal WiMAX 802.16e-2005 network deployments around the world."

Sequans Communications