SINGAPORE, June 20, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- CommunicAsia -- Airvana, Inc. (www.airvana.com), an innovator and leader in mobile broadband infrastructure based on 3G mobile broadband technology, today announced it is ready to commence trials of its Universal Access Gateway(tm) (UAG) in Asia. The UAG is a highly reliable, standards-based network element that provides carrier-class security, IP mobility, and Quality of Service (QoS) across alternate access technologies.
Additionally, the Company announced the official opening of operations in China, to support Airvana's regional business agenda, led by Rod Gatehouse, vice president, Asia-Pacific. The new Beijing office, directed by China country manager George Huang, augments Airvana's Asia-based development centre, located in Bangalore, India, which opened in 2004.
"The Asia-Pacific region represents a significant market opportunity for FMC and IMS," said Gatehouse. "Not only does the region lead the world in broadband services penetration, the UAG meets the convergence criteria of Asia-Pacific operators, service providers, and MVNOs." A recent Informa study, cited by telecomasia.net and Dow Jones, forecasts 30.6 million FMC subscribers in Asia by 2011. Operators must offer FMC services that meet customer demands for increased performance and reliability for mobile voice, data, and IP video. Airvana's UAG helps wireless carriers, fixed-line operators, and MVNOs fulfill customer requirements, while maintaining a branded presence across converged and/or IP-based networks, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, EV-DO, HSDPA/HSUPA and WiMAX/WiBRO.
As a platform for Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC), the UAG allows service providers to monetize and coexist with the proliferation of new access networks and convergence devices. The UAG resides inside a service provider's infrastructure and manages the concurrent delivery of voice, data and multimedia offerings over alternative IP networks.
Airvana UAG benefits at a glance:
Standards-compliant for UMTS and CDMA2000
-- Complies with CDMA2000 / 3GPP2, PDIF and UMTS / 3GPP,
WAG/PDG specifications
Security
-- Protects user privacy and data integrity with the industry's
most advanced encryption and authentication protocols
-- Defends operators' network against Denial of Service; other
malicious attacks
-- Provides industry-leading secure session capacity
IP Mobility
-- Solves the wireless LAN subnet-roaming problem with
leading-edge IETF mobility protocols
-- Enables fast handoff across IP networks via Mobile IP
-- Interoperates with any circuit-to-packet handover solution
Quality of Service
-- Allows operators to provide differentiated services via
per-flow packet filtering, packet marking, and traffic
management at both the ingress and egress ports
-- Provides detailed accounting and call records
"Revenue expansion is critical for the survival for mobile broadband operators. Airvana continues to demonstrate itself as the key market innovator that enables network mobile broadband operators to broaden their service portfolio in order to drive key revenue expansion," said Bob Egan, research director of the TowerGroup. "Trialing its UAG and expanding its operations in the Asia-Pacific region is a smart move for the company-not just in terms of the market opportunity, but because it supports the natural expansion of Airvana's product portfolio," said Egan.
"The UAG demonstrates Airvana's vision of mobile broadband everywhere-the true coexistence of cell and IP-based access technologies," said Randy Battat, CEO of Airvana. "Whereas operators have been apprehensive about losing traffic and subscriber revenue to converged networks, the UAG bridges the gap between Access Networks and Service Networks, allowing them to offer services wherever subscribers initiate a connection. Our Asia trials will demonstrate the UAG's vital importance to operators looking for a stake in the burgeoning FMC market."
About Airvana
Airvana is an innovative leader providing mobile broadband infrastructure based on third-generation (3G) wireless packet data technology. Airvana is the first company to combine advanced CDMA2000 1xEV-DO broadband technology with an innovative IP-Radio Access Network architecture -providing carrier-class performance and reliability. Networks based on Airvana's technology service millions of consumer and business subscribers; and a wide range of mobile broadband information, communication and entertainment applications.
Worldwide, Airvana's mobile broadband systems are deployed on six continents in 16 major networks by industry-leading service providers who demand high standards of carrier-class performance. In North America, Airvana's largest deployments are Verizon Wireless (USA), Sprint PCS (USA), Bell Mobility (Canada) and Telus (Canada). The company's products are also deployed in networks including Telstra (Australia), Vesper (Brazil), Eurotel (Czech Republic), and Pelephone (Israel).
In addition, Airvana builds solutions for other wireless markets including in-flight, air-to-ground communications; and fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) for the integration of cellular and IP-based access technologies.
Airvana is headquartered in Chelmsford, MA, USA. For more information, please visit the company's Web site at http://www.airvana.com