Cisco Acquires Navini

By: By Julien Grivolas, Senior Telecommunications Analyst, Ovum
( 1 Jan 2008 )

Cisco recently announced that it will pay approximately $330 million in cash and assumed options for Navini. Upon closure of the acquisition Cisco plans to integrate Navini into its Wireless Networking Business Unit, under the Ethernet and Wireless Technology Group.

The acquisition of Navini marks Cisco's entrance into the mobile WiMAX radio equipment and CPEs markets. Cisco is now in a position to offer end-to-end mobile WiMAX solutions in the near future as Cisco is already active in the core network domain for WiMAX deployments. The vendor is offering ASN Gateway and Home Agent solutions based on its Cisco 7600 Series router to a selected number of partners including Alvarion and Navini.

This deal has not come as a huge surprise as there have been rumors for a number of weeks that Cisco will make an acquisition in the WiMAX radio business. Navini was the most often quoted candidate, but Alvarion and Aperto were also mentioned as being potential targets. So the question is why Navini?

Together with NextNet Wireless (now part of Motorola), Navini Networks was one of the few vendors to offer a proprietary "Plug and Play" portable broadband wireless technology through its Navini Ripwave solution.

For the US vendor, the mobile flavor of WiMAX was a natural choice and Navini consequently developed the Ripwave MX systems which is claimed to be software upgradeable to 802.16e. Navini's solution is marketed as a Wave2-compliant mobile WiMAX solution thanks to Navini's SmartWiMAX solution which combines MIMO and beamforming techniques. This expertise in smart-antenna technology is one of the strengths that Cisco emphasized in its press release.

Cisco expects that this acquisition will greatly contribute to Cisco's "Country Transformation and Digital Inclusion" initiatives, which are aimed at driving broadband penetration to consumers and businesses in emerging countries.