Navini nabs $25M for wide-area broadband technology

Navini Networks Inc. has secured $25 million in Series C funding for its non-line-of-sight, wide-area wireless broadband technology. The cash infusion brings its total to date to $91.5 million to date.

Navini's Ripwave line uses smart-antenna, beamforming technology to deliver multi-megabit broadband data rates up to 8 miles from the basestation in an indoor, plug-and-play, non-line-of-sight environment. The technology's calling card is the elimination of truck rolls, which have been cost prohibitive for many broadband wireless deployments.

Ripwave products consist of a customer modem, basestation and element management system (EMS) that run in the 2.3GHz WCS, 2.4GHz ISM, 2.5/2.6GHz ITFS/MMDS, and 3.5GHz WLL bands. Over the past several months Navini has announced Ripwave deployments and trials with: BellSouth; Italy's IBAX; IntroWeb of the Netherlands; Liberty Technologies of Panama; Rioplex Wireless; Houston-based Sprint; WINTEL of Trinidad and Tobago; and YourInter.Net.

Austin Ventures, Granite Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Sternhill Partners, all existing investors in the company, led the new round of financing. Navini plans to use the new funding as working capital to primarily expand global sales and marketing efforts and to further its research and development initiatives.

Alastair Westgarth, president and CEO at Navini Networks, said "Given the incredible traction we are having in the global marketplace, this should be our last round of funding."

- Patrick Mannion

EE Times