RadioFrame Networks, Inc. Closes $12 Million Series D Funding Round; VantagePoint Venture Partners Leads Investment Syndicate of Wireless Industry Visionaries.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 2003 RadioFrame Networks(TM) Inc., the first in-building wireless infrastructure company, today announced the closing of a $12 million Series D financing led by VantagePoint Venture Partners. Existing investors including Craig McCaw's COM (1) (Computer Output Microfilm) Creating microfilm or microfiche from the computer. A COM machine receives print-image output from the computer either online or via tape or disk and creates a film image of each page. Investments, Ericsson Venture Partners, Ignition Partners, Nextel Communications Nextel Communications, styled NEXTEL, (Former NASDAQ: NXTL) which is now known as the Sprint Nextel Corporation was a telecommunications firm based in the United States. Known for providing a nation-wide mobile communications system. (Nasdaq:NXTL), and Orange Ventures also participated in this round. RadioFrame has raised approximately $38 million in venture capital funding to date. RadioFrame Networks has developed the RadioFrame System, a wireless communications wireless communications System using radio-frequency, infrared, microwave, or other types of electromagnetic or acoustic waves in place of wires, cables, or fibre optics to transmit signals or data. platform that provides the first "future-proof" wireless access network that increases the quality and capacity of indoor wireless coverage at a fraction of the cost of current alternatives. The system supports multiple cellular networks (including 2G, 2.5G and 3G) and all flavors of 802.11 while offering a platform upon which to add new services as standards evolve. "As mobile phones become the primary phone for consumers all over the globe, high quality connections and reliable in-building service will become must-have for all carriers. RadioFrame has the right mix of team and vision for building a world class company to deliver this compelling solution," said Eric Ver Ploeg, Managing Director, at VantagePoint Venture Partners and new RadioFrame board member. "Further, RadioFrame's ability to support Wi-Fi improves the scope of potential service offerings for carriers." The RadioFrame System improves the performance and manageability of wireless networks via RadioFrame Units (RFUs), high capacity 'super access bays' that are mounted at various locations within a building. Each RFU RFU Rugby Football Union RFU Reserved For Future Use RFU Relative Fluorescence Units RFU Ready For Use RFU Radio Frequency Unit RFU Reconfigurable Functional Unit RFU Request for Update RFU Remote Focusing Unit is about the size of an exit sign and can contain up to seven low-power RadioBlade(TM) transceivers, which communicate with a full range of mobile devices. The RadioFrame System can be customized and upgraded to fit any number of wireless networking See wireless network. usage requirements over a range of standards. "Our ability to attract additional funding from top tier firms such as VantagePoint and our existing investors is another validation of the market opportunity we see in providing a 'future-proof' wireless communications platform," said Jeff Brown
The RadioFrame System, commercially available in an iDEN/WLAN configuration, has improved the wireless connectivity for enterprises is a variety of usage scenarios. Callers on the RadioFrame System are experiencing far fewer dropped calls, even in elevators and basements. Further, wireless LAN network performance has improved, allowing end users to stay connected in more places at better speeds. The company was founded in 1999 by Rob Mechaley, who co-invented the first wide-area wireless data over cellular network -- Cellular Digital Packet Data (communications, protocol) Cellular Digital Packet Data - (CDPD) A wireless standard providing two-way, 19.2 kbps packet data transmission over exisiting cellular telephone channels. (CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data) A low-speed, digital, wireless data network that is an enhancement to an existing analog cellular network. Based on IBM's CelluPlan II, CDPD provides a packet overlay onto the AMPS network and moves data at 19. ) -- and led the team that built the nation's first seamless wireless network, NACN NaCN Sodium Cyanide NACN North American Cellular Network (the North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. Cellular Network). About RadioFrame Networks Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, RadioFrame Networks is an in-building wireless infrastructure company that manufacturers and markets the only system to converge mobile wireless voice/data and high-speed wireless LAN into a single, future-proof platform solution via software-defined radio technologies. Multiple wireless technologies can be remotely controlled by a single system manager, significantly reducing operating expenses Operating expenses The amount paid for asset maintenance or the cost of doing business, excluding depreciation. Earnings are distributed after operating expenses are deducted. and increasing long-term ROI (Return On Investment) The monetary benefits derived from having spent money on developing or revising a system. In the IT world, there are more ways to compute ROI than Carter has liver pills (and for those of you who never heard of that expression, it means a lot). . www.radioframenetworks.com About VantagePoint Venture Partners VantagePoint Venture Partners is one of the nation's largest venture capital firms Name Location Founding date Managing Partners/Directors Specialty Capital managed 5AM Ventures Menlo Park, CA; Waltham, MA 2002 John Diekman, PhD (managing partner), Scott Rocklage, PhD (managing partner), Andrew Schwab (managing partner) life sciences $200M [1] , with $2.5 billion in committed capital in four funds. The Firm is an active multi-stage investor, providing funding and resources for all stages of a company's lifecycle from seed round through late stage and privately negotiated investments in public companies. VantagePoint is based on a full-service Partner-Team approach that provides entrepreneurs with a blend of technology, venture capital, operations, and corporate-finance expertise. As hands-on investors, the Firm is focused on technology investing in communications, semiconductor, software, and related growth industries. www.vpvp.com About Nextel Communications Nextel Communications, a Fortune 300 company based in Reston, Va., is a leading provider of fully integrated wireless communications services and has built the largest guaranteed all-digital wireless network in the country covering thousands of communities across the United States. Nextel and Nextel Partners, Inc., currently serve 198 of the top 200 U.S. markets. Through recent market launches, Nextel and Nextel Partners service is available today in areas of the U.S. where approximately 241 million people live or work. www.nextel.com About Ericsson Venture Partners Ericsson Venture Partners ("EVP EVP Executive Vice President EVP EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) Valve Position Sensor EVP Electronic Voice Phenomenon EVP Europäische Volkspartei (Germany) EVP Employee Value Proposition ") is a $300 million venture capital fund. Its strategy is to achieve attractive financial returns by leading investments, across funding stages, in communications technology companies, with an emphasis on mobile. EVP aligns with the knowledge capital of Ericsson while leveraging the support of its other limited partners: Industrivarden, Investor AB, and Merrill Lynch. EVP focuses on Europe and North America through its offices in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and London. www.evp.com About Ignition Partners Ignition, headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., is a premier venture capital firm founded by leaders in the software, Internet, communications and wireless industries dedicated to igniting winning businesses in software, telecommunications and network infrastructure. Founded by former Microsoft and McCaw Cellular Communication senior executives, Ignition's partners and principals all have operational leadership experience in the software, Internet, communications and wireless industries. Qualcomm, Softbank Venture Capital and Madrona Venture Group are prominent investors and strategic partners. www.ignitionpartners.com About Orange Ventures Orange Ventures is the venture capital arm of Orange SA, one of the largest mobile communications companies in the world with over 30 million subscribers and presence in over 20 countries worldwide. Orange Ventures invests in early-stage technology companies that are in line with the Orange vision of a wirefree(TM) future. Orange Ventures invests in Europe and the United States and has offices in London, UK and Boston, Massachusetts. www.ovp.com e |
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