SAN FRANCISCO-Philips Electronics NV of the Netherlands and Motorola Inc. announced a cross-licensing agreement giving Philips access to the FLEX family of messaging technologies, including the FLEX one-way, ReFLEX two-way and InFLEXion voice messaging protocols.
In addition, Philips Semiconductor Division, a worldwide supplier of paging receiver and decoder technology, will supply integrated circuits for FLEX technology. The initial release of one-way FLEX integrated circuits will be followed by ReFLEX and InFLEXion-based products.
The arrangement will allow Philips to enter the U.S. pager market and expand its market share in Asia, where FLEX has been widely adopted by service providers, the company said. Philips added it now supports all global paging standards.
“Philips’ intention to enter the FLEX pager and chipset market, supported by its experience and strong technology in the area of paging, brings a key global electronics supplier into the family,” said Hector Ruiz, executive vice president and general manager of Motorola’s Messaging Systems Product Group. “Their commitment to advanced messaging will serve to stimulate growth and innovation throughout the industry.”
Motorola said the FLEX family offers increased transmission speeds, flexibility, improved data integrity and system capacity and extended battery life.
