Service management and orchestration company Axon Networks is buying software company DZS’ service assurance and Wi-Fi management software portfolio that includes CloudCheck, Expresse and TruSpeed.
Axon is making the acquisition as an all-cash, $34 million transaction. The products will then be integrated into Axon’s network-as-a-service portfolio, and Axon said that the solutions will mean it can deliver a “comprehensive NaaS platform to … service providers and optimize the overall quality of experience for its customers.”
The two companies said that the transaction represents an expansion of their strategic partnership and enables cross-selling opportunities. Martin Manniche, founder and CEO of Axon, also said in a statement that the addition of new engineers from the acquisition “creates a combined development team that will be one of the largest and strongest of its kind.”
“We have been working with AXON for the past two years on a variety of technology advancements spanning [software-defined networking] and network edge-to-home broadband solutions,” said DZS President and CEO Charlie Vogt. “We acquired Expresse and CloudCheck from ASSIA in 2022 to accelerate the market adoption for our networking and connectivity products through cross-selling and sales synergies, which we have achieved. The enhanced partnership and sale of our service assurance and Wi-Fi management software business will enable us to continue investing and differentiating our networking, connectivity and cloud edge solutions. AXON Networks is well-positioned to accelerate the next phase of innovation of Expresse, CloudCheck, and TruSpeed within their strong portfolio of software solutions.”
In other test news:
–Rohde & Schwarz says it has developed a new system for testing wireless charging of devices, and it showcased the wireless power tester (WPT) prototype system at the recent IEEE Wireless Power Technology Conference and Expo in Japan. The test company said that it wants to develop a “comprehensive testing solution for wireless power transmitters and receivers”; the prototype system uses Rohde test equipment plus publicly available wireless charging development kits. R&S, which is part of the Airfuel Alliance that focuses on standardization of wireless charging interfaces, said that the prototype is the first to support the Airfuel RF standard.
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In other news from R&S, the company also said that it worked with IMST GmbH to develop a new, patented vehicular antenna digital twin aimed at assisting in optimization of automotive connectivity. The digital twin “combines measurements of the antenna characteristics with simulation of the electromagnetic wave propagation to optimize the antennas’ design and their position,” Rohde & Schwarz said—for example, to support optimal in-vehicle Wi-Fi coverage. The test company in particular called out the digital twin solution as providing “significant reduction in cost and time for antenna suppliers and vehicle manufacturers through the front-loading of antenna validation by combining measurements and simulations.” It said that the solution offers both an exceptional level of modeling accuracy, and results in hours.
–Keysight Technologies has launched a new test and validation solution for high-speed interconnects in data centers and other 800G, high performance computing (HPC) infrastructure applications. The Interconnect and Network Performance Tester 800GE Benchtop has both two-port and four-port models and can test across a range from 50GE to 800 GE, Keysight said, in a quiet and portable form factor.
“The rapid growth in AI and HPC infrastructures is driving an unprecedented need for innovative testing solutions and Keysight’s mission is to champion these efforts. Our new 800GE benchtop system represents a significant leap forward in enabling the industry to validate and deploy the next generation of high-speed networks with confidence,” said Ram Periakaruppan, VP and GM of network test and security solutions at Keysight.
-Ultra-low power IoT chip startup HaiLa Technologies said this week that it was able to demonstrate Bluetooth backscatter technology, which it called “a significant milestone towards extremely efficient battery and ambient-powered wireless communications.”
“Passive backscatter paves the way for reducing power consumption in connected devices to near zero-energy,” the company explained in a release, adding that its backscatter adaptation to Bluetooth “uses a fraction of the power of typical Bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy radio architectures, enabling both smaller IoT batteries and the use of a single battery over the entire product life.”