Altair, Willcom sign multi-million dollar deal

Israeli startup Altair Semiconductor, which develops WIMAX chips for forth generation communications technology – G4 handheld devices – announced Tuesday it sighed a multi-million dollar, perennial contract with Willcom Inc. – Japan's largest wireless provider.

Willcom is said to have chosen Altair after looking at several of the world's leading chip manufacturers. The contract calls for Altair to supply Willcom with chipsets for its "next generation Personal Handyphone System, XG-PHS; the company will be providing the Japanese communications giant with its ALTx150 series of high performance, low-power chipsets.

"Altair's world-class multi-mode 4G chipset portfolio, and its underlying O2P processor architecture, which is capable of supporting a wide range of OFDMA standards, allows us to benefit from high volume pricing and field proven semiconductors. It is the perfect fit for our needs," said Yoshioki Chika, executive vice president of Willcom.

"Willcom is a pioneer of PHS deployment in Japan and has an extraordinary track record for pushing the envelope on performance and service quality," said Oded Melmed, CEO and a co-founder of Altair.

"The fact that Willcom chose Altair's chipset is a testament to the Israeli high-tech industry," he added.