Sheffield and Wellingborough UK, August 30 2003 /Wi-Fi Technology News/- Following a series of important design wins and significant sales growth in China and the Asia/Pacific region, leading UK miniature antenna manufacturer, Sarantel, has announced the formation of a Singapore-based subsidiary. The President of the new company, Sarantel Asia/Pacific Pte., is Joseph M. Murray, who brings over 20 years of experience in telecoms and cellular business development with AT&T and Lucent Technologies.

In his role as President, Asia/Pacific, Mr. Murray will be responsible for marketing and business development, as well as distribution of Sarantel products across the Asia/Pacific region, with emphasis on building relationships with major cellular handsets and GPS OEMs, ODMs and contract manufacturers. The company's products are currently manufactured at its $20m principal manufacturing facility in the UK.


Sarantel's antennas are ideal for applications where performance is critical in hand-held devices or in RF-hostile environments. The subject of over 100 US and international patent filings, the high-dielectric ceramic PowerHelix(tm) antenna technology produces a very small near-field that doesn't yield energy to the user's hand, body or head and therefore does not suffer the proximity de-tuning effects common with conventional antennas. This is a significant advantage, particularly when applied to new-generation 3G mobile handsets that offer data rates of up to 2Mb/second. It also enables the creation of lower SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) handsets in emerging 2.5G markets, such as China.


"We recognise the growing importance of design and manufacturing in the Asia/Pacific region," commented Barrie Foley, CEO of Sarantel. "Joe is a Singapore permanent resident with broad regional expertise and has just the experience Sarantel now needs to drive our business forward. We have already established business momentum and some key relationships which Joe will build on which will accelerate entry into new markets."


A further area for market development will be Sarantel's GPS (Global Positioning System) antennas whose very high beamwidth offers significant performance advantages. For example, they will enable hand-held GPS receivers to acquire more satellites, thereby offering a faster and more accurate position fix. This capability is particularly important when GPS functionality is incorporated into mobile handsets, many of which will be designed and manufactured in Asia but will conform with current USA and pending European emergency location reporting legislation.


Joe Murray has worked extensively in the region with AT&T and Lucent Technologies, having lived in Hong Kong, Malaysia as well as Singapore. He led efforts to 'win new business' for Lucent's CDMA and GSM wireless infrastructure business. "Joe is a dynamic person whom I am confident will provide the leadership we need to capitalise on the huge Asia Pacific market opportunity," added Barrie Foley.


"I am very excited to join Sarantel and contribute my regional knowledge and marketing experience to rapidly grow the company business and presence in Asia," commented Joe Murray. "The potential for PowerHelix(tm) antennas here is huge and market interest is intensifying across the region, especially in North Asia and China. This is where the wireless action is and where Sarantel is poised to be a major player."

Source: Sarantel http://www.sarantel.com