Deliver Your News to the World

Sierra Wireless teams with Tomen Electronics to enter Japanese market


WEBWIRE

New distribution agreement between the two companies will deliver comprehensive line of Sierra Wireless products to the Japanese market

October 30, 2006 - Vancouver, Canada and Tokyo – Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR - TSX: SW) and Tomen Electronics Corp. today announced they have signed an agreement that designates Tomen as the primary distributor for all Sierra Wireless products in Japan, marking the formal entry of Sierra Wireless into the Japanese 3G wireless market.

According to Gartner, revenue from mobile data services in Japan is forecasted to rise from 1,988 billion yen in 2005 to 2,541 billion yen in 2009. The number of mobile connections is expected to increase from 88.5 million to 95.9 million during the same period.*

Tomen Electronics Corp. is a leading distributor of semiconductor, storage, and communications components in Japan, with annual revenue of approximately US$1.1 billion and more than 500 employees. Under the terms of the agreement, Tomen will offer sales, integration support, and field application engineering support for all Sierra Wireless products in Japan, including both the AirCard® and embedded module product lines. The company will provide a strong local point of contact for original equipment manufacturers integrating Sierra Wireless embedded modules into AirCard Enabled™ notebook computers to be shipped worldwide, and for network operators looking to provide their 3G data customers with Sierra Wireless AirCard PC Card, ExpressCard, and USB modems.

“Sierra Wireless is well-known worldwide as a leader in delivering 3G wireless connectivity to a variety of devices, through the company’s high-quality AirCard products and embedded modules,” said Yuji Akiba, Business Unit General Manager, Marketing Business Unit 3 for Tomen Electronics. “The addition of Sierra Wireless 3G wireless modems to Tomen’s roster allows us to take a leadership position in offering an array of high performing wireless products to customers in Japan.”

“Japan has been an important market for Sierra Wireless for a number of years, as home to several of our OEM customers. With many leading technology companies and a population of early adopters, the Japanese market is a key element in our strategy for the Asia Pacific region,” said Dan Schieler, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales for Sierra Wireless. “It was clear to us that we needed a strong partner in the region to work with both new customers in Japan and existing customers looking to enter the Japanese market, and we believe our agreement with Tomen Electronics will bring great value not only to Sierra Wireless, but to our OEM customers as well.”

To purchase Sierra Wireless products from Tomen Electronics, please visit http://www.tomen-ele.co.jp/etop.htm, or contact info@tomen-ele.co.jp. To contact the Sierra Wireless Sales Desk, call 604-232-1488 or e-mail sales@sierrawireless.com.

* “Forecast: Wireless Data Applications, Japan, 2000-2009,” Nahoko Mitsuyama, Gartner.

About Tomen Electronics Corp.
TOMEN Electronics Corp.(TSE:7558), established in 1972, is one of the leading distributors for foreign made semiconductor, data storage products and communication components, and is active in design-in work in such fields as mobile/wireless communication, information equipment, consumer electronics, automotive, amusement and gaming. Under the corporate philosophy “With information and creativity, we meet emerging needs from society”, we are enhancing our functions as a global electronics distributor and are determined to provide total-system-solution to customers. We will continue striving for the purpose to be an excellent company who possesses and maintains unique competitiveness in the world. (www.tomen-ele.co.jp)

About Sierra Wireless
Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIRTSX: SW) develops and markets reliable, high quality wireless communications products that provide mobile professionals with data and voice access to wide area wireless networks. The Sierra Wireless product portfolio includes the award-winning AirCard® line of wireless modems, embedded modules for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and the MP line of rugged, vehicle-mounted wireless modems. Sierra Wireless also offers professional services to OEM customers during product development, leveraging the company’s expertise in wireless design and integration to provide built-in wireless connectivity for notebook computers and other portable computing devices. Sierra Wireless is headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, with additional offices in Carlsbad, California, London, and Hong Kong. For more information about Sierra Wireless, please visit www.sierrawireless.com.

“AirCard” is a registered trademark of Sierra Wireless. Other product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, plans and timing for the introduction or enhancement of our services and products, statements about future market conditions, supply conditions, channel and end customer demand conditions, revenues, gross margins, operating expenses, profits, and other expectations, intentions, and plans contained in this press release that are not historical fact. Our expectations regarding future revenues and earnings depend in part upon our ability to successfully develop, manufacture, and supply products that we do not produce today and that meet defined specifications. When used in this press release, the words “plan”, “expect”, “believe”, and similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current expectations. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in technology and changes in the wireless data communications market. In light of the many risks and uncertainties surrounding the wireless data communications market, you should understand that we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements contained in this press release will be realized.



WebWireID22887





This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted.

News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.