Sequans to lead consortium developing critical IoT solutions
PARIS, France – January 28, 2021 – Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE: SQNS), leading provider of chips and modules for 4G and 5G broadband, critical, and massive IoT, has received a multi-million dollar grant from the French government to support technologies the government has determined to be strategic for the national interest. Sequans’ proposal was accepted in the ICT and 5G category, aimed at securing national sourcing of strategic technology for critical connected objects in industrial, medical, scientific, and other markets. Sequans will lead a consortium of seven French companies tasked with developing 5G technology solutions for these critical IoT applications. The funding has been made available as part of a nationwide recovery plan to mitigate the economic impact of the global pandemic.
“We are gratified that our proposal was chosen to receive this funding that will strengthen our ability to bring critically important 5G connectivity solutions with advanced capabilities to market as quickly as possible,” said Georges Karam, Sequans CEO. “This award, together with the funding we have received from private 5G partnerships already in place, will enable us to intensify our efforts on development of the broadband and critical 5G IoT solutions we are currently working on. We are honored to join hands with the excellent companies making up our 5G consortium and we look forward to delivering powerful 5G solutions that will benefit our economy, our industry, and our country.”
The consortium members include Alsatis, a broadband service provider; Amarisoft, a telecom software company; CEA-Leti, France’s major technology research institute pioneering micro and nanotechnologies, an aerospace and defense company; AW2S (Serma Group), a specialist in embedded and RF systems and telecom infrastructure equipments provider; SNCF, the French national railway company and its subsidiary ITNOVEM dedicated to digital transition.
SNCF monitors very closely the current development towards a sovereign 5G dedicated to the needs of the company. The CRIIOT project leads by SEQUANS fits perfectly into this trajectory. “We are delighted to work with CRIIOT’s partners to define, experiment machine to machine solutions and their compatibilities with our industrial constraints coming from our diverse use cases, from predictive maintenance, rail network surveillance to real-time remote operations” said Sebastien Kaiser, e.SNCF Connectivity and Networks Director.
Antoine Roussel, Alsatis CEO adds: “After a decisive fight to substantially reduce the digital divide, Alsatis now benefits of the tremendous impulse generated by the 5G ecosystem. We intend to put our expertise and our technical infrastructure at the service of French industry’s renewed needs and sensitive sectors such as public health. Along with this dynamic, Alsatis contributes to the innovative project CRIIOT and thus helps building a French value chain to meet the specific and professional applications”
“CEA-Leti is eager to provide its solid expertise on mmWave communications for 5G industrial networks to enable low power and critical 5G IoT solutions and pioneer compact antenna arrays to help the French industry on the road towards the next 5G+ generation in the mmWave spectrum” said Emmanuel Sabonnadière, CEA-Leti’s CEO.
“AW2S/Serma is proud to be an active contributor for this project and to show that 5G ecosystem exists through the different CRIIOT partners in France. Our goal is to provide innovative solutions to address 5G markets and new associated use-cases”, said Nicolas Breant, AW2S COO.
The consortium will be focused on delivering end-to-end solutions for 5G public and private networks powered by 5G release 16 and beyond with a particular focus on enterprise markets.
About Sequans
Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE: SQNS) is a leading developer and provider of 5G and 4G chips and modules for massive, broadband, and critical IoT. For 5G/4G massive IoT applications, Sequans provides a comprehensive product portfolio based on its flagship Monarch LTE-M/NB-IoT and Calliope Cat 1 chip platforms, featuring industry-leading low power consumption, a large set of integrated functionalities, and global deployment capability. For 5G/4G broadband and critical IoT applications, Sequans offers a product portfolio based on its Cassiopeia Cat 4/Cat 6 4G and high-end Taurus 5G chip platforms, optimized for low-cost residential, enterprise, and industrial applications. Founded in 2003, Sequans is based in Paris, France with additional offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Hong Kong, Singapore, Finland, Taiwan, South Korea, and China. Visit Sequans online at www.sequans.com.
Sequans media relations: Kimberly Tassin (USA), +1.425.736.0569, kimberly@sequans.com
Sequans investor relations: Claudia Gatlin (USA), +1 212.830.9080, claudia@sequans.com
