Telecoms giant Nortel Networks will base its new, upgraded WiMax wireless network product line on Israeli startup Runcom Technologies' products.
Nortel revealed its new line of WiMax wireless technology, MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output), at the WiMax World conference in Boston this week. MIMO is an advanced multiple antenna technology.
WiMax technology allows wireless connections of networks and individual devices at much greater distances than do other wireless technologies common today.
The companies claim that their new technologies will triple network speeds and double the amount of data that can be transmitted, because Nortel's MIMO technology is able to accommodate several input and output paths simultaneously.
The technology can deliver three times the speed and efficiency at one third the cost compared to competing WiMAX solutions that use alternative technologies, the companies said.
Runcom was founded in 1997 by Dr. Zion Hadad. Its 2005 sales reached $11 million, and it expects sales to double this year, and to double again in 2007, said Israel Koffman, Runcom's vice president of marketing.
The company's headquarters are in Rishon Letzion. In 2000, Israeli venture capital firms Vertex and Concord invested $8.5 million in Runcom, at a company value of $56 million after the money.
"The strength of MIMO is that it packs 300 percent more performance across the same area as competing WiMAX offerings, requiring fewer cell towers for more efficient transmission of communications," said Hadad, founder and chief executive officer of Runcom.
The improved technology is expected to be used in applications such as television on the Internet (IPTV) and Internet telephony, as well as high-bandwidth mobile applications like VoIP, video conferencing, mobile video over large areas, streaming music, video, Internet access and multimedia.
According to Nortel, the new products are intended for both consumers and network carriers.
