Extends Mobile Broadband Leadership With UMTS Pico and Femto Cell Pioneer

Airvana, Inc., a provider of network infrastructure products used by wireless carriers to provide mobile broadband services, announced it has acquired 3Way Networks, a provider of home base stations and industry-tailored solutions for UMTS markets. Terms of the deal are undisclosed.

The acquisition furthers Airvana’s strategy to address UMTS radio access networks and to deliver fixed-mobile convergence and in-building mobile broadband solutions for both UMTS and CDMA2000 markets. 3Way Networks’ pico and femto cell solutions will complement Airvana’s Universal Access Gateway (UAG), a high-capacity network element through which we expect to provide secure access to core network services for UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi and other Internet Protocol (IP)-based wireless devices.

“This is a logical step in both companies’ evolution,” said Simon Albury, managing director of 3Way Networks. “We believe the acquisition validates our technology, and provides 3Way Networks with considerable resources and market reach.”

3Way Networks’ technology can enable mobile operators to offer UMTS voice, video and data cost-effectively into the home. The company also offers products that provide UMTS connectivity for military and transportation markets. Both 3Way Networks and Airvana have embraced a ‘flat’ architecture that combines multiple functions of a radio access network into the base station for simpler deployment, greater reliability and lower cost.

“Consumers increasingly want to make their mobile phone their primary phone”, said Sanjeev Verma, founder and vice president of business development of Airvana. “With this acquisition and our existing UAG product, Airvana anticipates providing such a solution for UMTS subscribers.”

Source: Airvana