WiMAX test leader Aeroflex and Sequans Communications, a leading developer of WiMAX semiconductor solutions, have entered into a test technology partnership. Under the terms of the partnership, the two companies will collaborate closely to further speed the ongoing development of their respective WiMAX solutions. Sequans will provide Aeroflex with early access to its new and upgraded WiMAX semiconductor solutions and reference designs. Aeroflex will use them for the ongoing verification of its WiMAX Protocol Conformance Tester (PCT) that is being developed under the auspices of the WiMAX Forum.

“This is an important technology partnership for us,” said David Brown, vice president of the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, Aeroflex. “Sequans is the demonstrable leader in WiMAX semiconductor solutions that combine high performance with low power consumption encompassing all WiMAX standards for base station and subscriber products. By teaming with Sequans, Aeroflex will have early access to quality commercial products to verify the performance of our test systems. This will ensure that we remain well-ahead of our competitors both in relation to the development of our WiMAX PCT system and also with regard to the creation of our PXI-based test solutions for development and volume production applications.”

In return, Sequans will gain early vital access to Aeroflex’s WiMAX test equipment, providing them with the regular flow of valuable test data needed not only to ensure they remain first-to-market with new and upgraded semiconductor solutions but that they perform as required. Aeroflex will pre-validate Sequans’ reference designs to European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) conformance standards, giving Sequans’ customers complete confidence that using their silicon will ensure their own products will meet protocol conformance requirements.

“Aeroflex is the leader in WiMAX test and our technology partnership will provide us with a vital source of test data to feed back into our ongoing product development program,” said Bertrand Debray, vice president of engineering, Sequans Communications. “The ability to pre-validate our reference designs to ETSI protocol conformance requirements will undoubtedly generate even greater confidence in our WiMAX semiconductor solutions amongst potential customers.”