U4EA Technologies Acquires NextHop
Acquisition – Driven by SMB Wi-Fi Demand – Will Complement U4EA’s Multi-service Business Gateway (MSBG) Product Line
U4EA Technologies, a leading provider of integrated access technology for converged communications, today announced the acquisition of NextHop Technologies, a premier supplier of Wireless 802.11 software. The former NextHop Technologies will operate as U4EA Wireless, and U4EA has appointed PG Menon as vice president and general manager of the operating unit.
The NextHop product portfolio includes Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n controller and access point software. Together, they address small and medium business, enterprise and service provider requirements for seamless mobility for voice, data and video applications. A broad spectrum of OEM suppliers already use NextHop’s 802.11 Wi-Fi networking and access point control software for their wireless product offerings.
“Demand for wireless is becoming ubiquitous across all platforms and applications within both the SMB and enterprise markets,” said PG Menon, General Manager of U4EA Wireless. “NextHop has always focused on innovation, whether supplying solutions to satisfy new demands in manufacturing for RFID (radio frequency identification) tracking, in the branch office for OIB (office in a box) solutions, or in hospitals requiring location-based services. NextHop’s CompleteMobility Express is a plug-and-play version for SMB which can be deployed from scratch in less than 15 minutes.”
With the acquisition, U4EA adds a wealth of Wi-Fi software and expertise to its growing portfolio of communications products delivered to the small and medium business markets. Integrating the NextHop Wi-Fi software with U4EA’s Multi-service Business Gateway Fusion series will address the rapidly growing SMB requirements for seamless mobility, unified communications and highly integrated and cost effective solutions. U4EA’s patented QoS (GoSTM) is the key ingredient that ensures voice, data and video can share the same network access link with guaranteed quality and maximum utilization.
“U4EA’s mission is to provide premise solutions for Unified Communications and IMS aimed directly at the SOHO and SMB markets,” said Columb Harrington, Group CEO of U4EA Technologies. “We have long recognized that wireless will be an essential part of any next generation premise solution, and in this respect we have been partnering with NextHop for some time. The opportunity to acquire NextHop was timely. We welcome PG and his team and look forward to delivering WLAN solutions combined with U4EA’s Multi-service Business Gateways to address the FMC and UC requirements of the SMB marketplace.”
About U4EA Technologies
U4EA Technologies is a leading provider of Multi-service Business Gateways (MSBG) that enable service providers to deploy highly integrated, robust, and easy-to-manage IP communications solutions to SMB and enterprise customers. U4EA’s all-in-one customer premises devices, supported by the company’s revolutionary QoS (GoS) mechanisms, ensure the secure, reliable and cost-effective delivery of converged VoIP, data and video services. The U4EA Fusion Series also includes next generation network signaling gateways, which enable carriers to interconnect legacy networks and equipment with next generation networks. U4EA Technologies is a privately held company with worldwide locations in Fremont, California; Bristol, England; Nice, France; and Cork, Ireland. For more information, visit U4EA at http://www.u4eatech.com.