Option N.V.

Option N.V.
Public – N.V.
(Euronext: OPTI)
Industry Telecommunications, Wireless technology
Founded Leuven, Belgium (1986)
Headquarters Leuven, Belgium
Key people
 Jan Callewaert, Founder in 1986 & current CEO
Products Data cards
Embedded wireless modules
Mobile connectivity devices
Software
Revenue Increase €57.7 million (2010)[1]
Decrease €61.0 million (2010)
Number of employees
 240 as of 2010[1]
Website www.option.com

Option N.V. is a publicly quoted technology company, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium. Option specializes in the design, development, production and commercialization of broadband wireless technology devices. Option's mission statement is to provide "anywhere, anytime easy access to information". Option has been awarded Ernst & Young's ‘Company of the Year’ award for 2005.[2]

Products

Option PC Card GT 3G Quad
An Orange-branded GlobeTrotter Fusion+ PC card

Currently, the product line-up consists of connect cards (for example, the GlobeTrotter HSDPA "7.2 Ready" data card), embedded wireless modules (for laptops and/or smartphones), fixed mobile devices (for example, a USB stick providing wireless broadband access via HSPA and UMTS networks) and software.

Remarkable is the GlobeTrotter Fusion+ card which was the first[3] to integrate HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/Wi-Fi technologies on a single data card.

Option is the worldwide market leader in the wireless broadband niche (other market contestants are either significantly smaller, or don’t consider wireless broadband a core business – for example NEC Corporation), and can benefit from high margins across the whole product range. Intentions from a new Intel-Nokia partnership which would deteriorate Option's market share were short-lived and quickly dropped,[4][5][6][7] proving Option's leadership as well as high entry-to-market barriers even for large corporations. Most production took place at Jabil in Bergamo, Italy, while Celestica in Kladno, Czech Republic, provides additional capacity. Nowadays, all manufacturing of devices is done in Wuxi (China). The products are marked as having been designed in Leuven, but actually are refurbished and labelled in Ireland.

Financials

Initial market panic stemming from the announced Intel-Nokia deal did cause Option's share price to drop significantly in 2006, losing more than 23% in one day on September 28.[6] The stock has rebounded somewhat since. Revenue growth for 2006 remained solid, however, reaching nearly €280 million, self-stated projected revenues for 2007 are anywhere from €355 to €375 million. Jan Callewaert, the company's founder and CEO, is the largest single shareholder, controlling a 17.10 percent stake, currently valued at nearly €90 million. The remaining shares (82.9%) enjoy free-float status on the Euronext Brussels exchange. Smaller stakes (under 5 percent) are held by KBC Bank and UBS AG, well-known financial institutions.

Customers

Option's customer base has grown substantially every year, current customers are Sharp Corporation, Wataniya Telecom, Fujitsu Siemens, T-Mobile, Cingular Wireless (now AT&T), Vodafone, Orange, Airtel, Telstra, Acer, Uniwill, Samsung Electronics and Telenor, to name but a few.

References and footnotes

  1. 1 2 Option − Annual Report 2010
  2. ↑ Press communication Ernst & Young
  3. ↑ Monday 13 February 2006 PRNewswire
  4. ↑ Nokia, Intel Plan to Collaborate On Wireless Technology WiMAX
  5. ↑ Intel/Nokia Deal Gets Mixed Reactions
  6. 1 2 Nokia-Intel 3G Deal Threatens Wireless Modem Makers
  7. ↑ Dutch press coverage at 3GSM Barcelona, quoting an Intel spokesman
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