A.P. Systems Integrates Wavecom GSM/GPRS Wireless CPU for Automated Meter Reading in Europe

10/10/2006 - 11:06

Wavecom SA (Paris:AVM) (NASDAQ:WVCM) (ISIN:FR0000073066), a global
leader in wireless communications solutions for automotive, industrial
(machine-to-machine) and mobile professional applications, today
announced that A.P. Systems, a leading Italian subsystem designer for
the meter market has selected a Wavecom wireless solutions for its
newest line of advanced communications subsystems for automatic
electricity meters.

With the advent of deregulation of energy distribution, energy
providers must now be able to accurately track and monitor electricity
consumption for both individual residences and enterprise customers.
A.P. Systems has developed a new energy meter subsystem for remote
monitoring and control of electricity using the latest cellular
wireless communication technology that will allow energy providers to
retrofit existing meters or, create hubs connecting meters, with
communication capabilities. The add-on functionality developed by A.P.
Systems makes for easy adoption in both the consumer and enterprise
markets.

Wavecom and A.P. Systems have been working together since 2002 on
technical development. The combined design teams have created a
state-of-the-art, turnkey terminal that can easily be attached to
certain existing energy meters, thus turning them into "smart" meters.
This add-on terminal answers the need for increasingly sophisticated
monitoring by electricity providers. The Italian market for
communicating energy meters is one of the most advanced in the world.
Over the past five years a majority of electricity meters in Italy
have been systematically upgraded to modern meters that are capable of
integrating add-on communications technology. With a current installed
base of over 130,000 add-on communication systems from A.P. Systems
alone in Italy, they have proven their effectiveness and value from a
mid-scale deployment standpoint. The longstanding collaborative effort
of Wavecom and A.P. Systems has led to the development of products
that are recognized in the market for their high quality, reliability
and flexibility.

Wavecom's Open AT(R) Software Suite, which allows developers of
any wireless application to tailor it to a specific market, is one of
the main reasons that A.P. Systems chose Wavecom as its strategic
technical partner. The goal is to be able to maintain the
end-customer's current portfolio and to evolve it in other EMEA
countries by offering both standard and customized solutions for
connecting different devices. All A.P. System's automatic meter
add-ons will allow energy providers to be fully compliant with the
distributor's home-market regulations.

The Wavecom Open AT(R) Software Suite also provides for DOTA
(Download-Over-the-air) allowing for upgrades of all of the systems
software, including: the operating system, the application software
and the network software. This capability, which is only available
from Wavecom, is particularly critical for applications that will
remain installed, oftentimes in remote locations, for many years.

Commenting on this cooperation, Altinio Bassetto (A.P. Systems MIT
Division Director) said, "We are pleased that our long cooperation
with Wavecom has allowed us to explore multiple ways to make our
products better and at lower costs. In fact, based on consultation
with Wavecom, we are evaluating, for the first time, the possibility
of producing our new line of automatic meter subsystems with an Asian
EMS."

Wavecom Group Vice President for the EMEA region, Frank Souguir
added, "Automatic metering is one of the key target growth areas for
Wavecom and Italy is one of the markets that is leading the way in
this field. By providing our customers with the most flexible,
reliable and cost effective solution allows them to make their
products more efficient via the cellular networks -- we can help our
customer's customers, like large energy companies quickly deploy an
extensive network of intelligent meters."

About A.P. Systems

A.P. SYSTEMS Srl, a privately-held Italian Company, is a leader in
value-added GSM and GPRS telecommunication solutions for automatic
meter management, public transportation,, public administrations ,and
security systems. The company was founded in 1986. A.P. Systems
created its MIT (Mobile Information Technology) Division, especially
dedicated to the telemetering and fleet management markets in 1999.

Headquartered in Magenta (Milano)Italy, A.P. Systems has
subsidiaries in Italy: Naples, Cagliari, Catanzaro, Dro, as well as
Bucarest (Roumania) and Warsaw (Poland). The company employs more than
130 people.

About Wavecom

Wavecom is a worldwide leader in embedded industrial wireless
communication solutions for automotive, machine-to-machine and mobile
professional applications. Wavecom's solutions include the Open AT(R)
software platform encompassing the Wavecom Open AT(R) Operating
System, a wide range of Plug-Ins, the Open AT(R) Integrated
Development Environment (IDE) along with a market-leading range of
Wireless CPUs (Central Processing Units), and an expanding portfolio
of services. These complete embedded solutions enable makers of all
types of machines to develop a new breed of intelligent wireless
applications, without the need of external processors and other ASICs
(Application Specific Integrated Circuits) and components.

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Paris, Wavecom has
subsidiaries in Hong Kong (PRC), Research Triangle Park, NC (USA), San
Diego, CA (USA) and Camberley (UK). Wavecom is publicly traded on
Euronext Paris (Eurolist) in France and on the NASDAQ (WVCM) exchange
in the U.S.