Paris-based Sequans Communications is the latest company to pursue development of a system-on-a-chip solution for the WiMAX market, joining companies such as Intel, Fujitsu and Wavesat Wireless.

The firm was founded in September 2003 by former employees of Juniper Networks, who also had previously worked for Pacific Broadband until that company was acquired by Juniper. Many of those same Sequans staffers also have worked for French vendor giant Alcatel.

But the company’s preparation to compete in the WiMAX semiconductor market belies it youthful appearance, said Bernard Aboussouan, vice president of marketing and business development at Sequans. The company already has a pre-certification, WiMAX-compliant chipset, and is planning to finish a chipset supporting the 802.16e WiMAX mobility standard by the end of this year.

Unlike some of the other WiMAX chipset developers, Sequans is working on both base station and subscriber station chipsets, and is focusing on both the PHY-layer and MAC-layer of the 802.16 standard.

“We think we have to be leveraged on both the base station and the subscriber end in order to be successful,” Aboussouan said. “Also, we have the MAC because we think the large equipment providers aren’t going to want to do that themselves.”

Another point of differentiation for Sequans, he said, is that the company is supporting both WiMAX and the Korean broadband mobility standard WiBRO on a chipset.

“WiBRO could happen first, and the 802.16e [WiMAX mobility] standard could come about later,” Aboussouan said. “We’re betting a lot on the Korean market because they have aggressively moved with broadband, and if they adopt the new technology, we know others will follow. Ultimately, WiBRO probably will become a profile within 802.16e.”