
Europe
: Option N.V. announced that it has received the mandatory technical
certifications FCC and PCTRB for use on EDGE and GPRS networks in
the US. Having formal certification enables Option to start commercial
shipments of the Quad band GlobeTrotter COMBO EDGE product to US operators.
For the European market Option has also received the statutory CE
& R&TTE approvals and has started shipping commercial products
to its European customers.
In order to promote
efficient use of the radio spectrum in US markets the FCC (Federal
Communications Commission) has developed technical standards for devices
that are capable of emitting radiofrequency energy when in use –
such as wireless data cards. These products, including now Option’s
GlobeTrotter COMBO EDGE, need to receive FCC identification numbers
in accordance with the Commission Equipment Authorization rules prior
to marketing in US markets. This FCC certification is similar to the
CE certificate for the European markets.
PTCRB Approval is required for all products entering the North American
markets. The purpose of the PTCRB (PCS Type Certification Review Board)
is to provide the framework within which GSM Mobile Equipment (ME)
Type Certification can take place for members of the PTCRB (amongst
the members are the most important US network operators.
On an EDGE network,
GlobeTrotter COMBO EDGE enables connection to the Internet at data
speeds of up to 247 kbps. Move into range of a public Wi-Fi hotspot,
the corporate wireless network or the home wireless network and the
GlobeTrotter COMBO EDGE provides connection at speeds up to 54Mbps.
In areas where EDGE or Wi-Fi services are not available the data card
still enables reliable and secure data connections over traditional
GPRS.
Option offers
its premier GlobeTrotter Mobility Manager™ software with the
GlobeTrotter COMBO EDGE enabling users of the data card to have fast,
simple and easy access to wireless data whilst hiding from the user
the complexity of underlying wireless EDGE, GPRS and WLAN (Wi-Fi)
technologies. In addition network operators implementing Option’s
mobile IP solution, SESAM™, will be able to provide their users
with a Seamless Roaming experience regardless of access technology.
The GlobeTrotter COMBO EDGE, as other data cards within the GlobeTrotter
family, is Microsoft WHQL certified, has inbuilt support for SIM authentication
(EAP-SIM) enabling automatic authentication on WiFi networks, and
supports Microsoft’s PC Smart Card services (PCSC) within the
Microsoft Windows Operating System.