Cambridge Broadband Networks today announced it has secured a $16.5M investment to fund an aggressive growth plan aimed at capitalising on worldwide demand for its next generation microwave backhaul and access solutions. This latest funding round was oversubscribed and in addition to participation from the existing investors – Accel Partners, Adara, Amadeus Capital Partners and TVM Capital – the company secured a significant contribution from two new investors including Samsung Ventures Europe.
Samsung Ventures’ investment, the first by its newly created European venture investment group is a precursor to the development of a strategic relationship to create an important new channel to market for Cambridge Broadband Network’s VectaStar point-to-multipoint solutions.
Commenting on the development Graham Peel, Cambridge Broadband Networks’ CEO said, “The investment we’ve just secured is both an affirmation of the technology underlying our point-to-multipoint microwave equipment and recognition of the significant opportunities we have available. Our VectaStar solutions meet the needs of mobile operators in growth markets around the world, from EMEA to the Americas and Asia Pacific – all are seeking more efficient means of satisfying the demand for broadband data services.”
Teresa M Vega, Cambridge Broadband Networks’ Chairman, added, “Market analysts universally predict a dramatic rise in the requirement for innovative microwave backhaul solutions in response to exponential growth in consumer demand for mobile data services. Samsung and our other investors recognise that Cambridge Broadband Networks is ideally placed to meet that demand with a technically and environmentally superior solution that is highly efficient in its use of capital and operational resources.”
Cambridge Broadband Networks will use the proceeds from the funding to invest in product development as well as its sales and customer support organisation to support its push into new geographical markets and to ensure the best possible service for its growing list of customers.
Cambridge Broadband Networks’ Vectastar backhaul solutions mirror the point-to-multipoint (PMP) architecture found in existing 3G, and next generation Long Term Evolution (LTE), radio access networks. It is a fundamentally more efficient approach to serving the ‘peaks and troughs’ typical of traffic generated by mobile broadband subscribers, and has already been enthusiastically adopted by forward thinking operators around the world to serve millions of subscribers. Cambridge Broadband Networks is confident operators are increasingly evaluating PMP as part of the network upgrades required to meet rising demand for mobile data services.
“The requirement for enhanced mobile backhaul networks is significant and will not be satisfied entirely by fibre networks or existing microwave point-to-point solutions,” said Michael Jeon, Head of Europe Investments at Samsung Ventures Europe. “Our investment in Cambridge Broadband Networks is evidence of our belief in the requirement for innovative solutions to a global issue and we see huge potential for the company’s VectaStar solutions.”