Who says WiMAX is dead? Don’t tell that to the folks at NewNet Communication Technologies or the firm’s owner, Skyview Capital.
NewNet is 20+ years old and includes the former WiMAX division of Motorola, which was sold to Nokia Siemens Networks in 2010 and was acquired by NewNet this past February. More recently, the owners brought in wireless industry veteran P.J. Louis to serve as interim CEO. For the past several weeks, he’s been fine-tuning the business using his turnaround expertise.
WiMAX isn’t the only piece of NewNet’s business, but it is a significant part. The company is using the CTIA Wireless 2012 convention in New Orleans this week as a re-launch pad of sorts. Louis says they didn’t have time to get exhibit space, but they did reserve a meeting room, and they’ll be conducting meetings throughout the conference.
NewNet’s product offerings include, but are not limited to: TraxcomSecure electronic transaction processing solutions for mobile payments and eCommerce; Mercury, a mobile multimedia content delivery platform; the Total Control PDSN platform for mobile data services in CDMA networks; and the WiMAX broadband product portfolio.
The company is in the process of developing an LTE product line, but for now, it’s full-steam ahead with WiMAX, according to Louis.
“WiMAX is going to continue to have a role” in the years ahead, he says, adding that a lot of customers are rural operators in underserved markets where WiMAX is still an affordable option. The company is basically looking at markets that are largely ignored by bigger infrastructure vendors. “I see WIMAX and LTE living side by side.”
Louis was in Arlington Heights, Ill., last week visiting the offices of the old Motorola WiMAX team. NewNet’s products can be found in about 70 different countries, and it employs about 380 people based mainly in North America, Asia and the Middle East. Company marketing material says NewNet is experiencing “dramatic growth.”
Matt Thompson, vice president of portfolio operations for Skyview Capital, which is a Beverly Hills-based private equity firm, says the company spent a lot of time studying the market before making the WiMAX investment. Thompson, who also serves as senior vice president of corporate development for NewNet, met Louis about 10 years ago at a CTIA show, and Skyview brought him on as CEO in April of this year.
