Sierra Wireless announced today the commercial availability of the AirCard 555R, a CDMA 1X wide area wireless PC Card with Removable User Identity Module (RUIM) support, to the China marketplace through an existing distribution agreement with NCL Technologies.
This product offers CDMA 1X throughput at theoretical speeds of up to 153.6 kbps and a superior network interface (NIC) for fast and reliable mobile computing. In partnership with NCL, Sierra Wireless is demonstrating the AirCard 555R at a launch event on April 15th and 16th in Beijing. This agreement demonstrates Sierra Wireless' continued commitment to expand its presence in China and across Asia Pacific building on strategic relationships previously announced in China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore.
Under the agreement NCL will distribute the AirCard 555R for use on China Unicom's CDMA 1X network through existing IT channels and resellers to enterprise customers and mobile professionals subscribing to China Unicom service plans. NCL has been distributing the award-winning Sierra Wireless AirCard 555 to customers in China since September 2002, positioning Sierra Wireless as a leading supplier of WWAN PC cards for customers in China.
About the size of a credit card, the AirCard 555R is a single band (800 MHz – Cellular) PC Card designed specifically to meet the requirements of the China market. Offering the same features as the AirCard 555, the AirCard 555R is a complete communications solution with both wireless data and voice functionality. When inserted into a PC card slot, the AirCard 555R will allow mobile professionals the flexibility to work outside the office while using a notebook, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or other handheld device to receive reliable, high-speed, wireless access to email, corporate applications, and the Internet. The RUIM support provides customers with the flexibility to transfer account information (stored on the RUIM chip) from device to device easily and efficiently. The AirCard 555R also offers language support in Simplified Chinese and English.