From a Belgian semiconductor startup to one of the defining companies of the mobile broadband era. The Option NV story spans three decades, three technology generations, and a product range that changed how millions of people accessed the internet.
Option NV was founded in 1986 in Leuven, Belgium. The company's early years covered semiconductor development and embedded wireless modules, building RF expertise that became relevant as mobile data arrived. The 1990s saw Option produce PC Card and ExpressCard modems for GSM and GPRS - the business modem market that existed before anyone talked about mobile broadband.
Option recognised earlier than most that 3G networks - arriving in the UK from 2003 - would make genuinely useful mobile broadband possible. The iCON USB modem range launched through Vodafone and T-Mobile. The GlobeSurfer followed: a desktop router that removed the key constraint of USB modems by sharing the connection across a whole network.
The GlobeSurfer III launched around 2007 and found its market quickly. Rural homes with no ADSL option. Small businesses in poorly-served areas. Anywhere that needed broadband and couldn't wait for a phone line engineer. The III+ followed in 2009 with HSPA+. The X.1 added dual-SIM failover. The XYFI created the portable hotspot category. The Dataroute moved into M2M.
Option NV did not survive the 4G transition. The chipset market consolidated rapidly around Qualcomm and Huawei, consumer devices commoditised, and carrier channel margins compressed sharply. By 2012 the company was in restructuring; by 2014 it had wound down.
The legacy is substantial. Option's engineers proved there was a mass market for cellular home broadband. Every 5G FWA router sold today owes something to the GlobeSurfer III sitting on a windowsill in 2008.
| 1986 | Founded in Leuven, Belgium |
| 1990s | GSM/GPRS PC Card modems |
| 2003 | 3G UMTS modem development |
| 2004 | iCON USB modem range |
| 2007 | GlobeSurfer III - first home 3G router |
| 2009 | GlobeSurfer III+ - HSPA+ 21Mbps |
| 2010 | X.1, XYFI, Dataroute |
| 2012 | Financial restructuring |
| 2014 | Operations wound down |