Exalt Communicationshas shut up shop after 10 years in the backhaul business, Light Reading has learned.

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

September 22, 2014

2 Min Read
Exclusive: Microwave Maven Exalt Is Cooked

Microwave maven Exalt Communications appears to have shut up shop after 10 years in the backhaul business, Light Reading has learned.

Industry sources say Exalt Communications Inc. has gone under. The company was started in 2004 by Western Multiplex president Amir Zoufonoun, who acted as CEO from the beginning, and was focused on selling microwave backhaul to mobile operators and wireless ISPs. (See Exalt Beams Up Microwaves and US Wireless ISPs: What's on Their Minds?.)

Multiple calls by Light Reading to the Campbell, Calif.-based company's main switchboard were sent straight to voicemail Monday afternoon. The customer care support line also goes to voicemail.

"Their office doesn't seem to be open... doors closed and parking lot empty," says one source, who had heard the company may be undergoing a change of ownership.

Pam Valentine, VP of outbound marketing at Exalt, meanwhile, is still listed on the website as the media contact for the company, but left this month, according to her LinkedIn profile. She has not responded to calls or an email from Light Reading as this article was published.

Hey, backhaul sounds like a fun business to be in doesn't it? Find out more by visiting Light Reading's dedicated backhaul channel.

The company's last update on its own LinkedIn page was posted five months ago and its last press release was issued on July 16.

CEO Zoufonoun, however, is still currently listed as the head of the company on his LinkedIn profile.

The company had raised almost $30 million in VC funding. The last $15 million series C round was closed in February 2009.

On its website the company, which competes with the likes of Ceragon Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: CRNT), DragonWave Inc. (AIM/Toronto: DWI; Nasdaq: DRWI) and Siklu Communications Ltd. among others, claims to have more than 2,000 customers globally, though it seems many of these may be enterprise customers and very small ISPs. (See Exalt Raises $15M.)

We'll update the story with any further details that come in.

— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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