Sigma Wireless Technologies, an Irish firm formed 10 years ago following a management buyout at Motorola Ireland, has won a supply contract worth at least €20 million with mobile firm O2.
Sigma will supply O2's British operation with a type of adjustable antennae for its third-generation (3G) mobile phone network in a three-year deal, which is its first with the new technology.
The firm will recruit an additional 70 staff in the Republic to help it manufacture the new antennae for O2. It has also opened offices in Beijing and Milan to market the product.
Mr Tony Boyle, chief executive of the Sigma Wireless Group, said the deal was a good return on the firm's €7.5 million research and development investment in the 3G antennae.
He said it was a good example of an indigenous Irish firm undertaking cutting-edge research and becoming a world leader in a specific technology sector. Further antennae deals with other mobile operators were likely, he said.
Sigma says its device is unique because it allows operators to remotely adjust the coverage of the antennae from a central control centre. This enables mobile operators to dramatically cut the cost of maintaining their 3G networks, according to Mr Joe Moore, managing director of Sigma Wireless Technologies.
"We won this contract against fierce global competition," he said. "It represents major recognition that our world-class design capability is second to none in the industry."
Sigma Wireless Group, which was formed more than 10 years ago following a management buyout at Motorola Ireland, is a prime example of how technology can be transferred from a multinational to an indigenous company.
The firm continued to invest in research and development.
The group employs about 400 people and is beginning to invest abroad in search of cheaper components and new markets for its products. It currently sources many of its electronic components in Taiwan but recently entered the Chinese market.
Several European mobile operators, including Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone, are testing Sigma's 3G antennae.
