Telecommunications company AT4 wireless has opened an office in Herndon — the first location for the firm in the United States.
The office will house a lab for WiMAX Forum certification testing and 25 to 30 employees.
“To base our WiMAX Forum designated test facility on the East Coast is important strategically, because a number of interesting industries are located there,” said Luis Fernando Martinez, general director of AT4 wireless, in a statement. “With Fairfax County, we found a great place to launch our U.S. operations.”
Fairfax County Economic Development Authority officials are hoping the new office will draw even more foreign firms to the neighborhood.
“When other [Spanish] companies start to look to the U.S. as a place to market goods and services, they will go to other companies from their home country that have U.S. offices and ask them about … how the community receives them” and other factors, such as the economic conditions and what the area has to offer, said Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. Right now, there are a few other prospects from Spain, primarily in the technology sector, that are thinking of opening up branches in the county, according to Gordon.
“What sold them on Fairfax County is the labor force and the presence of other telecommunications companies,” which indicated a good market, said Gordon. Even though there’s a labor shortage, there is a work force skilled in telecommunications, Gordon noted.
There is already a significant presence of international technology firms in Fairfax County. In 2006, about 30 new technology companies located branches in Fairfax County, according to Alan A. Fogg, FCEDA communications director. In the fiscal 2007, there are 361 foreign firms total from a variety of industries in Fairfax County, according to FCEDA numbers. AT4 wireless, formerly CETECOM Spain, was founded in 1991 and is based in Malaga, Spain.
Besides testing wireless technologies, the company develops software applications and provides engineering and technical assistance for various industries in the public and private sector.
