AirFiber Secures $50 Million in Latest Financing Round; GM Capital Partners Leads; Qualcomm, Foundation Capital, Enterprise Partners, London Merchant Securities Among Participants.Business Editors & High-Tech Writers SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 5, 2001 AirFiber Inc., a developer of wireless optical networking Communications between computers, telephones and other electronic devices using light. An optical network is far more reliable and has far greater potential transmission capacity than networking in the electrical domain. See optical fiber. equipment, today announced the receipt of $50 million in the first closing of its third round of equity financing Equity Financing The act of raising money for company activities by selling common or preferred stock to individual or institutional investors. In return for the money paid, shareholders receive ownership interests in the corporation. . The round, lead by GM Capital Partners, also included London Merchant Securities and several of AirFiber's existing investors. AirFiber will apply the proceeds to the continued development, sales and marketing, customer support and distribution of its advanced wireless optical networking equipment. "We are pleased with the level of interest in AirFiber among new investors and appreciate the backing that our previous investors have shown," said Jim Dunn, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of AirFiber. "This financing is a show of support, not only for AirFiber and its advanced products, but for the wireless optical networking market as a whole. The investment, in addition to our existing OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and distribution agreement with global telecom equipment leader Nortel Networks (Nortel Networks Limited, Brampton, Ontario, www.nortelnetworks.com) A world leader in telecommunications products, which includes switching, wireless and broadband systems for service providers and carriers, telephones and systems for residential and business users, computer telephony (a), reinforces our leadership in the category." "AirFiber stood out in a rapidly growing market and can make a real difference in the telecommunications industry," said Charles Froland of GM Capital Partners. "We have been looking to expand our investments in the telecommunications sector and are pleased to have AirFiber as the first investment for our new fund." AirFiber develops products based on free-space optics -- a technology that delivers broadband services over the air using beams of light without the need for digging trenches to install fiber or acquiring expensive microwave licenses. AirFiber has improved the technology even further, evolving free-space optics into a carrier-class networking product, OptiMesh(TM), with unique advancements such as patent-pending automatic tracking and automatic acquisition systems, independently certified eye-safe Class 1 lasers and alternate route An official alternate route is a bannered highway that provides an alternate alignment for a highway. Originally, the term for these routes was "optional"; but in 1959, the designation became alternate. (or mesh) system design. The technology, known as wireless optical networking, affords telecommunications providers the ability to dramatically increase the addressable Reachable. When something is addressable, it can be identified and manipulated independently of its surroundings. For example, screen pixels and RAM memory are addressable. Each of the screen's picture elements can be individually turned on and off, and each of the memory's bytes can be market of fiber by offering similar bandwidth to their customers at a fraction of the cost and time typically required to install fiber to buildings. Wireless optical networks allow carriers to provide a real answer to the telecommunications "last mile" problem, which is often times a result of the high cost and delay of fiber installation leaving 95% of commercial buildings without fiber access. OptiMesh is a carrier-class communications system In telecommunication, a communications system is a collection of individual communications networks, transmission systems, relay stations, tributary stations, and data terminal equipment (DTE) usually capable of interconnection and interoperation to form an integrated whole. , designed to efficiently provide broadband access See broadband and wireless broadband. at 99.999% availability. OptiMesh is now generally available and has been shipping for several months to locations throughout the world. "AirFiber has demonstrated its leadership and innovation among wireless optical vendors with our technological advancements," said Dunn. "We will continue to build on our technology and help our customers easily, quickly and cost-effectively eliminate the last mile bottleneck." About AirFiber San Diego-based AirFiber is a telecommunications equipment supplier of wireless optical networks that provide high-bandwidth access to urban buildings for voice, data and multimedia services. The company's flagship product, OptiMesh(TM), is a reliable, quickly deployed and cost-effective access solution for carriers worldwide. Founded in 1998, AirFiber is a privately held company privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. . For more information, visit the Web site at www.airfiber.com. (a) Nortel Networks is a trademark of Nortel Networks. |
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