Proxim Looks To Boost WLAN Business With Agere Purchase

Agere, which last year was spun out of Lucent Technologies, markets its WLAN solutions through the channel under the Orinoco brand, as well as through OEM agreements with Avaya, Dell Computer, Compaq Computer, IBM, Fujitsu and NEC. The products were first marketed by Lucent under the WaveLAN brand.

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 its branding plans, but with Orinoco's strength in the enterprise, it is likely to retain the Orinoco brand, King said. While Proxim is strong in the health-care and government sectors, it hasn't successfully penetrated the corporate enterprise market with its 802.11b product, he added.

"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 products as the acquisition is integrated into the company, he said.

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

David Hope, director of sales and marketing at DSI, a Greensboro, N.C., solution provider, said Proxim's purchase of the Orinoco brand "pegs them pretty squarely as the No. 2 player against Cisco in the enterprise."

Hope said while he is impressed with the range of wireless solutions the combined companies will be able to offer, DSI would remain loyal to Cisco for 802.11 solutions. DSI also will continue to provide Proxim's Tsunami solutions, he said. Tsunami-brand wireless Ethernet bridges are used as WAN connections between buildings and campuses, with speeds ranging from 10 Mbps to 1 Gbps.

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