BEACHWOOD, Ohio-Allen Telecom Inc. made an investment in Littleton, Mass.-based Windata Inc., which is developing a line of millimeter wave point-to-multipoint radio systems targeted to the competitive access provider market and local multipoint distribution systems.
The investment will initially be in the form of subordinated notes, which are to be funded during 1997 and early 1998, said Allen. A portion of the notes will be convertible into a 19.9 percent equity interest in Windata.
In addition, Allen has acquired options for the remainder of Windata at certain future dates, the company said. In the interim, the remaining ownership is with a number of venture capital firms and management.
“We are pleased to be getting in on the ground floor of this new family of products, which should be available for the market in the near future,” said Robert Paul, president and chief executive officer of Allen. “We believe that the use of point-to-multipoint radio systems in the millimeter wave range will be an efficient and cost effective method for transmitting large amounts of voice and data, especially in those frequency ranges for which numerous licenses have been granted in recent years.”
