Crescent (Belgian company)
 | This article needs to be updated. (October 2022) |
 Option Headquarters in Leuven, Belgium | |
| Company type | Public; NV |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications, Wireless technology |
| Founded | Leuven, Belgium (1986) |
| Headquarters | Leuven , Belgium |
Key people | Jan Callewaert, Founder in 1986 |
| Products | Data cards Embedded wireless modules Mobile connectivity devices Software |
| Revenue |  €4.3 million (2016)[1] |
 €7.5 million (2016) | |
Number of employees | 38 as of 2016[2] |
| Website | www.option.com |
Option 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 has been awarded Ernst & Young's ‘Company of the Year’ award for 2005.[3]
Products[edit]
Remarkable was the GlobeTrotter Fusion+ card which was the first[4] to integrate HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/Wi-Fi technologies on a single data card.
Option was the worldwide market leader in the wireless broadband niche (other market contestants are either significantly smaller, or do not consider wireless broadband a core business – for example NEC Corporation), and could 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,[5][6][7][8] 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 were marked as having been designed in Leuven, but actually are refurbished and labelled in Ireland.
Financials[edit]
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, which lies, together with the severe Chinese competition, at the basis of the downfall of the company .[7]
Customers[edit]
Option's revenues substantially declined last years. In the past, Option had the following customers in their portfolio 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[edit]
- ^ "Option − Annual Report 2010" (PDF). www.option.com. Retrieved Oct 21, 2022.
- ^ http://www.vfb.be/vfb/Media/Default/archief_pers/option/OPTION%20RAPPORTEERT%20JAARCIJFERS%20(8.3.2017).pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Press communication Ernst & Young" (PDF). www.leuveninc.com. Retrieved Oct 21, 2022.
- ^ "Monday 13 February 2006". PRNewswire. Retrieved Oct 21, 2022.
- ^ David Pringle; Don Clark (Jun 11, 2005). "Nokia, Intel Plan to Collaborate On Wireless Technology WiMAX". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved Oct 21, 2022 – via www.wsj.com.
- ^ "Intel/Nokia Deal Gets Mixed Reactions". Retrieved Oct 21, 2022.
- ^ a b "Datamonitor ComputerWire - Nokia-Intel 3G Deal Threatens Wireless Modem Makers". Retrieved Oct 21, 2022.
- ^ "Forum Bourse, conseils, discussions, avis - Boursorama". www.boursorama.com. Retrieved Oct 21, 2022.
External links[edit]
Media related to Crescent (Belgian company) at Wikimedia Commons