Alvarion ditches cellular business unit, sharpens focus on WiMAX
By Joni Morse
Nov 28, 2006
SAN JOSE, Calif.—The future is all about WiMAX for Alvarion Ltd. now
that the wireless broadband solutions developer cut its Cellular Mobile
business unit loose for $15 million.
The company sold its CMU business to privately held LGC Wireless Inc., a
wireless networking technology firm based in California.
“The transaction will enable us to focus all of our resources and
attention on WiMAX,” stated Tzvika Friedman, president and chief
executive of Alvarion, which is based in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Alvarion’s CMU business brought in $21 million in revenues during the
first three quarters of this year. In comparison, Alvarion’s Broadband
Wireless Access business unit—the company’s only remaining business—is
expected to deliver revenues of between $47 million and $51 million for
the fourth quarter.
Alvarion’s CMU portfolio includes base stations and core wireless
network equipment used primarily by wireless operators, system
integrators and government organizations. LGC Wireless’ president and
CEO, Ian Sugarbroad, said the acquisition will help LGC Wireless supply
carriers and other organizations with reliable cellular coverage with IP
and traditional circuit backhaul connectivity.
“This acquisition allows us to serve that market with a highly advanced
solution that includes pico base stations and soft switching as well as
distributed antenna systems, delivering turnkey, high-performance
networks that are right-sized for any venue,” added Sugarbroad.
LGC Wireless said the deal was solidified Nov. 21 and includes the
transfer of Alvarion’s CMU technology, patents, manufacturing rights,
inventory and equipment. The company named former Kineto Wireless CEO
John O’Connell the executive vice president and general manager of its
new division and confirmed that LGC Wireless will maintain Alvarion’s
office facilities in Mountain View, Calif. and Shenzhen, China. LGC
Wireless also said it has already offered jobs to most of the unit’s
employees.
O’Connell said LGC is aiming to serve the demand for in-building
coverage among carriers by “improving the economics and integration of
in-building 3GSM, CDMA, Wi-Fi and future technologies.”
LGC Wireless and Alvarion have worked together in the past, as
Alvarion’s CMU was the base station supplier for the fleet-wide
shipboard cellular system deployments at Carnival Cruise Lines, which
also featured LGC’s distributed antenna systems.
http://rcrnews.com/news.cms?newsId=27837
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