Ericsson Sizing Up BelAir Buy for Wi-Fi Push

Sarah Thomas, Director, Women in Comms

January 25, 2012

1 Min Read
Ericsson Sizing Up BelAir Buy for Wi-Fi Push

Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC) is reportedly eyeing BelAir Networks Inc. as an acquisition target, looking to add the smaller company's wireless LAN business to its Heterogeneous Network (HetNet) platform. (See Ericsson Integrates Wi-Fi.)

GigaOm reported the M&A rumor on Wednesday, citing industry sources. BelAir's CMO Ronny Haraldsvik and Ericsson's press office wouldn't comment on the speculation.

Why this matters
The acquisition of the wireless specialist would put Ericsson into heavier competition with Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), BelAir's chief rival, not to mention smaller competitors such as Ruckus Wireless Inc. and Wavion Inc.

BelAir likely caught Ericsson's eye because it's been steadily making a name for itself with cable companies and, increasingly, telcos. It's won at least partial Wi-Fi deployment deals with Bright House Networks , Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC), Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T). (See BelAir Racks Up Cable Wins.)

Ericsson already has equipment deals with most major wireless operators, too, as well as a homegrown network-integrated Wi-Fi system that's tied to its HetNet concept. The acquisition would solidify its competitive positioning as more operators embrace Wi-Fi off-load or look to complement their wired high-speed Internet services with wireless broadband components.

For more
Read up on the growing market for Wi-Fi off-load.

  • Bright House Lights Up Wi-Fi in Florida

  • Report: AT&T to Put Wi-Fi in 20 NYC Parks

  • WiFi Hotzones: AT&T’s Half-Baked Network Savior

  • TW Cable Places Bigger Wi-Fi Bet

  • Cable Sizes Up National Wi-Fi Play

  • Wi-Fi's New Lease of Life



— Sarah Reedy, Senior Reporter, Light Reading Mobile

About the Author(s)

Sarah Thomas

Director, Women in Comms

Sarah Thomas's love affair with communications began in 2003 when she bought her first cellphone, a pink RAZR, which she duly "bedazzled" with the help of superglue and her dad.

She joined the editorial staff at Light Reading in 2010 and has been covering mobile technologies ever since. Sarah got her start covering telecom in 2007 at Telephony, later Connected Planet, may it rest in peace. Her non-telecom work experience includes a brief foray into public relations at Fleishman-Hillard (her cussin' upset the clients) and a hodge-podge of internships, including spells at Ingram's (Kansas City's business magazine), American Spa magazine (where she was Chief Hot-Tub Correspondent), and the tweens' quiz bible, QuizFest, in NYC.

As Editorial Operations Director, a role she took on in January 2015, Sarah is responsible for the day-to-day management of the non-news content elements on Light Reading.

Sarah received her Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She lives in Chicago with her 3DTV, her iPad and a drawer full of smartphone cords.

Away from the world of telecom journalism, Sarah likes to dabble in monster truck racing, becoming part of Team Bigfoot in 2009.

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