RadioFrame Networks Inc., a Redmond, Wash., provider of indoor wireless voice and data systems, has received $11 million in first- and second-round venture- capital financing from five investors, the company announced June 20.
Participants included COM Investments, the personal investment company of Craig McCaw, Ignition Corp., Nextel Communications Inc., Orange Ventures, the venture- capital arm of the British wireless carrier, and Nicholas Kauser, former chief technology officer at AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Nextel.
Nextel Communications has signed an agreement to deploy the RadioFrame Networks System. RadioFrame also is at work developing a GSM-based solution for Orange.
“The indoor market has dramatically increased in importance, and RadioFrame Networks offers the only solution that satisfies our large-customer demand for enhanced coverage indoors while removing traffic from the outdoor network,” said Tom Kelly, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Nextel.
Rob Mechaley, founder of RadioFrame Networks, helped invent cellular digital packet data and was an architect of AT&T Wireless’ Project Angel. In March, RadioFrame Networks began to offer commercially its software-defined indoor radio system, designed to accommodate legacy and future wireless voice and data standards.
“RadioFrame Networks provides great benefits to the European market, solving issues related to our dense population, tremendous wireless penetration and our increased need for spectrum as Europe moves toward 3G technology,” said Mati Szeszkowski, a principal of Orange Ventures.
