The latest radio acquisition by Harris Corp. puts the company in the position to compete for a multimillion dollar government contract upgrading airport radio systems.
Harris is buying the Digital Radio Technology Inc. unit of California Microwave Inc. The Digital Radio unit was created in 1994 to pursue opportunities in digital air-to-ground communication systems.
California Microwave said the unit didn’t fit into its strategic plans; Harris said it’s a perfect fit.
“This acquisition fills in a hole in our product line, the digital HF (high frequency) link of 3 MHz to 30 MHz between the plane and air traffic control center,” said Bob Hendee, vice president of marketing for Harris’ communications sector. Harris’ RF Communications division has just completed a $1.7 billion contract with the Federal Aviation Administration, installing the latest digital switching and upgrading the traffic control centers for 20 U.S. airports.
The FAA is expected to issue a request for proposal early next year for plane-to-tower radio upgrades, and Harris hopes to participate.
This is the third acquisition in a year that has given Harris an additional foothold in the radio industry. Harris Corp. is a $3.6 billion company with offices worldwide. It offers products for four distinct market segments: Lanier office products, semiconductors, electronic systems and communications.
Harris is best known in the wireless industry as a supplier of microwave radio equipment for cellular carriers. That product is offered through the company’s Farinon division, based in Redwood Shores, Calif. Farinon has three manufacturing facilities: Redwood, San Antonio, Texas, and Montreal.
The six other divisions in the communications sector are Digital Telephone Systems, Wireless Access Division, Network Support Systems, Broadcast, RF Communication and Telecommunication Systems & Services.
Harris reported in October that its $1 billion communications sector experienced a 26 percent increase in income and a 15 percent rise in sales during the first quarter ended Sept. 30. The strength of that sector balances the weakness in the semiconductor industry at this time, Harris said.
Harris first entered the telecom market in 1980 with the purchase of Farinon Electric. Farinon’s main business became the Harris Farinon microwave division. Two Farinon subsidiaries became the Harris divisions of Digital Telephone Systems of Novato, Calif., and Dracon (now called Network Support Systems) of Camarillo, Calif.
A year ago, Harris acquired the wireless products division of NovAtel Communications Ltd. in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is now called the Harris Wireless Access Division and is targeting the international market. The division builds wireless local loop equipment and has a research and development base in Canada as well. The WLL systems are analog, but plans call for an upgrade to digital service based on a form of Time Division Multiple Access technology in the future.
“Our strategy is infrastructure development in emerging markets. Our target is low- to medium-capacity areas, not the larger cities,” Hendee said.
In October 1995, Harris acquired the cellular and copper-based test equipment division of Ohio-based Triplett Corp. “This provides test equipment for phones, to go into repair shops. We wanted to get into the wireless test area,” Hendee said. The Triplett entity was tucked inside the Network Support Systems division.
The company’s broadcast division is focused on digital TV. The newly formed Telecommunications Systems & Services division provides system integration service.
