Cisco Plans Acquisition of Ubiquisys

Cisco unveiled plans last week to purchase a privately held and U.K-based manufacturer of 3G and 4G small-cell technologies for mobile networks, Ubiquisys. The deal is worth $310 million, and will mean that Cisco will purchase the whole of the Ubiquisys business and operations. The deal will end in Q4 of 2013.

The acquisition is set to strengthen Cisco's mobility practise and broaden its range of small cells, or mini cellular base stations that will aid mobile service providers in dealing with the increasing number of web-enabled devices using their networks. Smalls cells allow increased network traffic to be off-loaded onto them, allowing service providers the chance to raise capacity and make the most of spectrum assets. Small cells also deliver signals over shorter ranges, and this means that users of mobile devices can have an experience which is both faster and more consistent.

The senior vice president and general manager of Cisco Mobility Business Group, Kelly Ahuja, said: "Cisco is 'doubling down' on its small-cell business to accelerate strong momentum and growth in the mobility market. By acquiring Ubiquisys, we are expanding on our current mobility leadership and our end-to-end product portfolio, which includes integrated, licensed and unlicensed small-cell solutions that are tightly coupled with SON, backhaul, and the mobile packet core. For service providers, Ubiquisys supports cost effective coverage and capacity that delivers a differentiated customer experience."

Ubiquisys' product portfolio will be combined with Cisco's Small Cell Technology Group. The acquisition is the most recent in a string of buys by the networking giant, and seeks to strengthen its mobility practise. The Intucell acquisition in February marked Cisco's purchase of a maker of self-optimizing network (SON) platforms for optimizing 4G, or long-term evolution (LTE) networks.

The acquisition of Denver-based BroadHop in December, noted the move to purchase a policy control specialist and service management technology for carrier networks; both BroadHop and Intucell technologies will be released via Cisco's Service Provider Mobility Group. (CY) Link