Cisco to buy WIMAX leader Navini Networks

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 23 October 2007 19:22

IT Industry - Deals

Cisco has to date stood aside from WiMAX but within days of the ITU accepting the technology as an international standard    has moved to snap up leading WiMAX technology company, Navini Networks for $US330 million in cash.

Navini, the supplier of pre-WIMAX technology to Australian carrier, Unwired, is a pioneer in the integration of smart beamforming technologies with multi-input multi-output (MIMO) antennas ,  a combination that improves the performance and range for WiMAX services and lowers the overall deployment and operational costs for service providers.

Cisco says the acquisition of Navini will help extend and enhance its IP next generation network (IP NGN) vision to enable service providers to deliver any service to any device over any network- a vision that Cisco calls the Connected Life. Cisco plans to integrate Navini into its Wireless Networking Business Unit, under the Ethernet and Wireless Technology Group. This will be acquisition No 124 for Cisco.

Cisco says it selected Navini "based on its industry-leading product portfolio, unmatched innovation and its real-world commercial deployments with service provider customers worldwide. Navini offers a leading portfolio of broadband wireless WiMAX solutions with comprehensive offerings including base stations, adaptive antenna arrays, management systems, and subscriber modems, which has been sold to more than 75 customers."

Cisco also expects that its broadband wireless solution portfolio, that will now include WiMAX products, will play a key role in its Country Transformation and 'Digital Inclusion' initiatives to drive broadband penetration to consumers and business in emerging countries.

"Emerging country service providers are in expansion mode, building out broadband wireless networks and are concerned about deployment costs and the availability of skilled resources," said Brett Galloway, vice president and general manager of the Wireless Networking Business Unit at Cisco. "Around the world broadband wireless networks based upon WiMAX have the potential to add millions of new Internet users who cannot be reached economically using copper or fibre infrastructures. Additionally, WiMAX networks will help drive the transition to open IP-based broadband wireless architectures and accelerate the rollout of new applications and services."