Altobridge and Sentry Wireless sweep boards at GSMA Asia

20 Nov 2009

Two leading Irish mobile-software companies, Altobridge and Sentry Wireless, have been awarded the overall award for innovation at the GSM Association Asia Congress.

Both companies are Enterprise Ireland high-potential start-ups (HPSUs).

The Mobile Innovation Grand Prix competition was created by the GSMA (Global System Mobile Association) to showcase promising entrepreneurs from small and medium-sized companies bringing innovative new products and services to market.

The APAC Tournament

During the APAC Tournament, presentations from five finalists were reviewed by a judging panel comprised of senior executives from mobile operators and venture-capital firms. Altobridge and Sentry Wireless were announced as the two overall winners.

The award means that Sentry Wireless and Altobridge have won a trip to compete for the Global Mobile Innovation Grand Prix title and will be showcased at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2010.

“Altobridge and Sentry Wireless have secured a highly prestigious international award which acknowledges their commitment to innovation,” said Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Conor Lenihan TD.

“This award is also a solid endorsement that the technologies that Sentry Wireless and Altobridge are developing are pioneering breakthroughs on the global mobile technologies’ stage.

“That two Irish companies won the overall award against strong international competition endorses Ireland’s international reputation as the innovation island. Both of these companies are Enterprise Ireland high-potential start-up companies and their achievement reflects positively on the Government’s continuing investment in innovation, R&D and Ireland’s Smart Economy blueprint,” said Lenihan.

SpamGuard recognised

Sentry Wireless, which provides mobile security solutions, won for its anti-SMS spam solution, SpamGuard, which uses Sentry Wireless’ award-winning and patented technology to enable subscribers to identify and block SMS spam in “one click” using a client on the SIM or handset.

This is the only spam solution that is visible to the subscriber and demonstrates that the operator is taking proactive action against messaging abuse.

“Winning this award acknowledges that SpamGuard is a game-changing solution,” Matt Norton, chief executive officer of Sentry Wireless commented.

“It also shows our competitive strength as we set the pace in the $1-billion messaging security market,” he added.

Remote Community Solution recognised, too

Altobridge, which provides cost-effective wireless solutions for mobile-network operators (MNOs), won for its pioneering technology behind the company’s Remote Community Solution.

“Our Remote Community solution truly has the ability to change the lives of millions of people in remote regions, as well as local and national economies in the emerging markets in which it is being deployed,” said Mike Fitzgerald, Altobridge chief executive officer.

Altobridge’s technology is aimed at MNOs in emerging markets and has been deployed successfully in commercial operations in Asia, with further deployments ongoing in Africa and Latin America.

The deployments in Asia (in Malaysia and Mongolia), have seen profitable cellular services reach small, remote communities where no viable delivery of mobile telephony services had previously been possible.

With support from Enterprise Ireland, Altobridge developed its satellite communications technology in partnerships with the European Space Agency, reflecting the highly innovative quality of the company’s technology.

By John Kennedy

Photo: Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Conor Lenihan TD.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com