Nextivity is also re-branding its public safety portfolio
In-building wireless company Nextivity has acquired High-Power User Equipment (HPUE) company Assured Wireless, which serves the public safety user market.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Assured Wireless was founded in 2016 and is based in San Diego, California. According to the company’s website, AT&T markets Assured’s products as “FirstNet MegaRange.”
HPUE is a special class of LTE equipment that allows higher device transmit power in certain radio bands (Band 14 and Band 41) that enables greater range and in-building reach for devices that are specific to first responders. The capability was first defined by 3GPP in Release 11. Assured’s website says that the company HPUE devices, including smartphones and mobile routers, transmit at 1.25 watts.
Nextivity says that the addition of Assured and its HPUE capabilities enables Nextivity to offer a “complete portfolio” for communications needs as well as “marking a new chapter for the company.”
Part of that new chapter is a rebranding of Nextivity’s Red public safety product line (including its Solo Red and Quatra Red) to Shield. The company said that its “FirstNet-optimized Shield MegaRange productions … will be fully integrated with the Nextivity Wave platform for a consistent level of user experience.”
“With Assured Wireless’ patented technology and Nextivity’s global reach, we can better serve the needs of first responders and essential workers globally. This acquisition further confirms our commitment to the global public safety community,” said Michiel Lotter, CEO of Nextivity.
John Goocher, CEO of Assured Wireless, pointed out that the two companies have a shared history; Assured was founded by Tom Bilotta, who passed in 2000 and held a range of positions over the years in companies that included Nextivity. (Bilotta also had an AT&T-FirstNet site posthumously named in his honor.)
Nextivity’s Shield line now includes its Shield Solo (formerly Solo Red) and Shield Extend (formerly Quatra Red) signal boosters, plus the Shield MegaRange HPUE.
