Proxim To Buy Agere's Orinoco WLAN Business

Proxim Agere Systems

Agere, spun out of Lucent, markets its WLAN solutions through the channel under the Orinoco brand, as well as through OEM agreements with Avaya, Dell, Compaq, IBM, Fujitsu and NEC. The WLAN business generates about $100 million per year in revenue, according to analysts.

Proxim's acquisition would encompass the OEM and Orinoco-branded access points, outdoor bridges and routers, high-end residential and SMB gateways and the Orinoco-branded client cards, said David King, COO and president of Proxim.

Proxim has yet to finalize it branding plans, but with Orinoco's strength in the enterprise market, Proxim is likely to retain the Orinoco brand, King said.

"We are a market leader in 802.11a technology with our Harmony line," he said. "But in the 802.11b space, Agere has a stronger brand and better product." Given that, the Orinoco product will likely replace Proxim's 802.11b product as the acquisition is integrated into the company, he said.

King said the deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.

The deal is Proxim's second acquisition this year. In January, wireless WAN vendor Western Multiplex acquired WLAN vendor Proxim and assumed the Proxim name.

That deal created a combined company with products ranging from low-end consumer HomeRF to 802.11a, 802.11b wireless LAN gear as well as wireless Ethernet bridges and wireless carrier backhaul products.

The former Proxim's strength in the WLAN market complemented Western Multiplex's point-to-point high-speed wireless Ethernet bridges and last-mile access products. Western Multiplex's Tsunami brand wireless Ethernet bridges are used as WAN connections between buildings and campuses, with speeds ranging from 10 Mbps to 1 Gbps.

While Proxim was strong in the health-care and government sectors, it hadn't successfully penetrated the corporate enterprise market with its 802.11b product, King said. The Agere deal will help the company lead in that market, he said.

The closing of the deal also will settle ongoing intellectual property lawsuits between Agere and Proxim, he added.