Airvana
| Company type | Private (post-2009 buyout) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications equipment |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Founder | Sanjeev Verma, Vedat Eyuboglu |
| Fate | Acquired by CommScope in 2015 |
| Headquarters | Chelmsford , United States |
Key people | Richard Lowe (CEO from April 2014), Randy Battat (former CEO and chairman) |
| Products | Small cells, femtocells, OneCell LTE small cell solution, Device Management System (DMS) |
| Parent | CommScope (since 2015) |
| Website | www |
Airvana became part of CommScope following its acquisition in 2015. Prior to this, it operated independently as a provider specializing in small cell and femtocell solutions that utilized 4G (LTE) and 3G CDMA2000 EV-DO mobile broadband technologies. Airvana’s offerings enable wireless carriers to enhance 3G and 4G cellular data performance within indoor environments.
About
Established in 2000 by former Motorola executives Sanjeev Verma and Vedat Eyuboglu, Airvana went public in July 2007 under NASDAQ: AIRV. It was subsequently taken private in 2009 through a $530 million buyout led by its management team alongside private equity investors. In 2013, Ericsson acquired Airvana’s 3G EVDO segment, and two years later, in 2015, CommScope purchased its femtocell division. Globally, Airvana’s 3G CDMA2000 EVDO infrastructure held the second largest market share, while its femtocell business ranked first worldwide in 2011.
Airvana focuses on developing technologies that support mobile broadband for data, communication, and entertainment applications. Its small cell and femtocell devices serve as compact cellular access points that connect to carrier networks through broadband connections such as DSL, fiber, or cable, thereby improving indoor cellular coverage. Current femtocell models are compatible with LTE and CDMA networks; however, a UMTS femtocell product line was discontinued in 2010.
In March 2013, Airvana secured a preliminary injunction in an intellectual property dispute against Ericsson AB. Later that year, it divested its EV-DO macro-cell radio access network business to Ericsson while maintaining ownership of its small cell operations.
Richard Lowe, formerly with Nortel, was appointed CEO in April 2014, succeeding Randy Battat who continued as chairman. In June of the same year, Airvana introduced OneCell, an LTE small cell solution leveraging Cloud RAN (C-RAN) technology designed for extensive indoor spaces. By February 2015, the company launched the Device Management System (DMS), a platform dedicated to overseeing small cell networks.
Awards
- In 2015, Airvana’s OneCell received both Outstanding Overall Mobile Technology – The CTO’s Choice and Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough honors at the GSMA Global Mobile Awards
- Recognized as a Visionary in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Small Cell Equipment in both 2014 and 2015
- Awarded the CTIA Emerging Technology (E-Tech) Award for In-Building Wireless – Small Cell, Wi-Fi, LAN in 2014 for OneCell
- The CDMA HubBub Femtocell was a finalist in the Network Infrastructure category at the CTIA E-Tech Awards in 2008
- Listed among the top 50 New England Cool Companies within the Innovation Economy “Cool Half-Hundred” in 2008
- Ranked as one of the Top U.S. Wireless IPOs and placed #4 in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 for New England in 2007
- Named Company of the Year and fastest growing company in Massachusetts by the Massachusetts Network Communications Council in 2006
- Randy Battat earned CEO of the Year honors from the Massachusetts Network Communications Council in 2005
- Received Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award (Technology, New England) awarded to Randy Battat in 2004
- Honored with Dow Jones VentureWire Investors Choice award as well as CDMA Development Group Network Technology Innovation award
- Featured among “The Fierce 15” Top Wireless Startups by FierceWireless
Offices
The main corporate office of CommScope is located in Hickory, North Carolina, United States.