LTE for IoT chip maker Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE: SQNS) today announced the opening of a new development site in Sophia Antipolis, on the Côte d’Azur, in the south of France. The new team currently includes ten engineers who will support Sequans’ core development of LTE semiconductor solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT).

“By establishing this facility in Sophia Antipolis, where there is a vibrant community of software and embedded systems engineering talent, we were able to efficiently strengthen our development capabilities to meet the requirements of our growing list of customers in the worldwide market phenomenon known as the Internet of Things,” said Georges Karam, Sequans CEO. “Establishing ourselves in Sophia Antipolis quickly with a proven team is an important step in implementing our long-term global R&D strategy. This choice has been made thanks to the personalized support of Team Côte d’Azur, the official investment promotion agency of the Côte d’Azur, which streamlined the process.”

“Our territory is already a welcoming land for companies who appreciate the quality of tech talent Côte d’Azur has to offer,” said Jean-François Chapperon, head of International Networks, Team Côte d’Azur.

Sequans recently released its newest LTE for IoT chip, an LTE-M / NB-IoT chip called Monarch, based on the latest LTE standard and highly optimized for IoT. In less than one year, Monarch has gone from introduction, to operator certification, to deployment, and has already been designed into numerous LTE for IoT devices.

The new facility in the south of France is Sequans’ eleventh site among its worldwide locations. The new team will work closely with Sequans main R&D engineering team at the company’s Paris headquarters.

Sequans Communications S.A. is a provider of single-mode 4G LTE semiconductor solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) and a wide range of broadband data devices.