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Will there be a wireless standard anytime soon ?

Best Of WirelessJanuary 21, 2004

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About Option

LOCATIONS HQ in Leuven (Belgium), R&D facilities in Leuven, Software Centre in Adelsried (Germany), Production Engineering & Logistics Centre in Cork (Ireland)

CORPORATE IDENTITY Option NV, IPO on NASDAQ EUROPE Nov. 1997, Listed on EURONEXT (OPTI) Aug. 2003, Debt Free and Net Profitable Company

EXPERTISEIntegration of hardware, software and multiple wireless transmission protocols using proprietary design and development methodologies to rapidly bring to market wireless-enabling technology solutions

TEAM 200 staff

CUSTOMERS Broad base of European and Far East wireless carrier customers Strong OEM relationships with industry leaders including HP, IBM, Vodafone...

SOLUTIONSDesign, development, test and verification of miniaturised Wireless Communication Solutions for use with portable, handheld computers and other equipment

TECHNOLOGIES W-CDMA UMTS, EDGE, GPRS, GSM, WLAN

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New Mobile Data Market – The Challenge

The convergence of IT and Mobile industries has created a new mobile data market

which is being challenged unexpectedly from within. GPRS is being challenged by

WLAN, EDGE is challenging 3G, handsets are challenging PDA’s. The challenge is

to understand this fragmented market, move quickly and decisively, to select a

product manufacturer who will satisfy the customer’s current and future mobile data

requirements.

Information TechnologyDevices: Communication:Laptops LANPDAs WLAN

WiMAXBluetoothIR

Mobile Network OperatorDevices: Communication:Handsets GSMSmart phones GPRSData cards EDGE

3GWLAN

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Traversing the “Expectations” cycle

Expectations

Maturity

1997

Mid 1999 Early 2000

Mid 2000

Mid 2001

Mid 2001 Mid 2002

Mid 2002Early 2004

2003

2005

GPRS

Technology

trigger

Peak of

inflated

expectations

Through of

Disillusionment

Slope of

EnlightenmentPlateau of

Productivity

3G

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Scenario for Migration from 2G to 3G

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Cellular - GPRS– Universal coverage, moderate data rates, up to ~100 kbit/s, high latency– Typical application: voice/messaging/information lookup

3G– Coverage in high traffic/congested areas, up to 2 Mbit/s, lower latency– Typical applications: voice/video clips/limited web surfing

Wireless LAN– Coverage in limited areas, up to 11 Mbit/s now, low latency– Typical applications: web surfing, file transfer, VPN access– Low cost infrastructure

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0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Mobile

Fixed

Mobile Internet

Fixed Internet

Mobility to outrun fixed networks

Sub

scrip

tion

s w

orld

-wid

e (M

io)

Mobile Subscribers

Fixed Subscribers

Mobile Internet Users

Fixed Internet Users

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Option Has Consistently Developed Products At The Forefront Of Wireless Technology

1995 2001 2003 20041999Vo

ice

/ L

imit

ed

Dat

a

(<19

.2 K

bp

s)

Incr

easi

ng B

and

wid

th

3G

2G

GSM

GPRS

Early 90’s

2.5G

Vo

ice

/ D

ata

(19.

2 K

bp

s –

384

K

bp

s)

Vo

ice

/ D

ata

/ V

ideo

(384

Kb

ps

– 2.

5 M

bp

s)

(> 2

.5 M

bp

s)

WLAN/GPRS

2002

WLAN/GPRS PC Card

Embedded Module and

PC Card

3G UMTS PC Card

UMTS/GPRS

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Consistency in Design

GlobeTrotter GSM/GPRS Card

GlobeTrotter ComboWLAN/GPRS Card

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Option Wireless Interface – Mobility Manager

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Business & Consumer buying trends

Business buying drivers– First time buyers focus on features and functionality,

then price/ performance, security and ease of use

– Existing users focus on upgrading their devices with the same manufacturer (brand), to maintain processes, support and compatibility across the organisation.

Consumer buying drivers– First time buyers focus on price

– Existing users upgrading their devices focus on Brand, functionality and then price

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Preparing for the Future!

Today’s optimal solution is WLAN/GPRS combo card which allows a user to connect to the internet anytime, any place but limits the choice of connection to what is available. The future will allow the user more choice on the speed and hence cost of connection required.

Today GPRS/WLAN

Tomorrow GPRS - WLAN – EDGE

EDGE – WLAN – 3G - 802.16 (WiMAX)

WLAN – 802.16 (WiMAX) – 4G

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SimplicitySpeedSecurity Service

Summary

It’s about…

…for the user

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It’s about You - Thank You