Cambridge, 27th July 2011: Pioneering developer of picocell and femtocell mobile technology, ip.access, today confirmed it had signed a distribution agreement with GDS Technologies, one of Africa’s leading network engineering consultants.

Under the terms of the agreement, GDS will be able to specify, supply and install ip.access small cell solutions to its operator customers. The agreement covers ip.access’s range of 3G femtocells and enterprise picocells, as well as its 2G picocell which is the world’s most widely deployed small cell solution.

The small cell solutions are used by mobile operators to both improve mobile coverage in hard to reach areas and also increase network capacity in busy locations. The equipment can be deployed in homes, offices, shopping centres, business parks or at street level to improve network performance and increase customer satisfaction.

Announcing the agreement, Jamie Cave VP sales EMEA, ip.access said: “The African market presents many challenges in terms of mobile network coverage and performance and we are delighted to be able to work with a partner with excellent knowledge of the region and a strong track record of success. We believe that the emerging African market will be a hotbed of small cell deployments and we look forward to working with GDS in the vanguard of these developments.”

GDS boasts a range of Tier One and challenger operator clients across the region, and also works with blue chip enterprises and multi-national corporations based on the continent.

Claudette Thorne, Business Development Director, GDS said: “Our aim is to build capability, functionality and sustainability in our customers' networks. Working alongside ip.access and its world-leading range of small cell systems will increase our ability to deliver solutions that help the operator and the end-users get the most from their services.”

Ends

About ip.access
Headquartered in Cambridge, UK, ip.access ltd (www.ipaccess.com) is a leading manufacturer of cost-effective picocell and femtocell infrastructure solutions for GSM, GPRS, EDGE and 3G. These solutions bring IP and cellular technologies together to drive down costs and increase coverage and capacity of mobile networks.
ABI Research ranks ip.access as the world’s number 1 picocell vendor; its nanoGSM® and nano3G™ picocell solutions provide 2G and 3G coverage and capacity for offices, shops and (using satellite backhaul) passenger aircraft, ships and remote rural areas. nanoGSM is the world’s most deployed picocell, with live installations in more than 50 networks around the world and growing.
ip.access is also the company behind the multi-award winning Oyster 3G™ femtocell technology, which dramatically improves the user experience for 3G services at home. Oyster 3G is the core femtocell technology in AT&T’s 3G MicroCell.
ip.access counts Scottish Equity Partners, Rothschild Gestion, Intel Capital, Amadeus Capital Partners, ADC, Cisco, Qualcomm and Motorola Ventures among its shareholders.

About GDS Technologies
Headquartered in Johannesburg South Africa, GDS Technologies is geared to drive new technologies into Africa. Since its inception in 2004, GDS has become synonymous with quality services by partnering tier one operators and multinational OEM’s in creating intelligent next generation telecommunication networks.
Our consultative approach enables GDS to offer services ranging from network studies to implementation, management and support. The aim is to build capability, functionality and sustainability in our customers’ networks, providing them with products from the core through to end user peripherals and applications.
Through the combination of consulting and resources, we provide a specialised end-to-end service, offering cutting-edge niche technologies to our clients.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Press contacts:
Europe: Kevin Taylor
Robertson Taylor PR
Tel: +44 7850 858 291
skype: +44 203 239 5005
kevin.taylor[at]robertsontaylorpr[dot]com

US: Vivian Kelly
Interprose
Tel: +1 (703) 860 0577
viviankelly[at]interprosepr[dot]com
Distributed on behalf of ip.access by NeonDrum news distribution service (http://www.neondrum.com)