Dallas-based ComSovereign Holding Corp. announced it’s going to acquire all the equity interests of Skyline Technology Partners, doing business as Fastback Networks, in a transaction valued at $14 million.
It’s part of ComSovereign’s plan to become a “Made in the U.S.A.” player in the wireless infrastructure world. The company has done a string of acquisitions, including assets that belonged to DragonWave, and announced its main manufacturing facility will be in Tucson, Arizona.
The company said the Fastback transaction includes all operations, customers and intellectual property (IP) of Fastback, and when completed, it will significantly expand ComSovereign’s wireless backhaul technology offerings to include intelligent backhaul radios (IBR) designed for Tier 1 service providers.
The acquisition of Fastback’s IP portfolio is especially important, according to ComSovereign Chairman and CEO Dan Hodges. Fastback's U.S. patent portfolio consists of 65 granted and active patents and 12 pending patents.
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ComSovereign is still in a bit of a nascent period, which began about three years ago. Management had been in talks with DragonWave for a number of years and when it was in receivership, they successfully bid and acquired it, as well as a number of other properties since then, including Veo.
In December, ComSovereign closed on a merger with Drone Aviation Holding, gaining the capability to replace entire LTE networks, from small private ones to city-sized systems, in a matter of days, using aerial platforms.
U.S.-based supply chain
Knowing that Huawei was being kicked out, “our objective was to build a U.S.-based company,” Hodges said. “The upshot of it was we wanted an end-to-end U.S.-based developer, manufacturer, supply chain – everything in the U.S. that could handle end-to-end infrastructure builds. We’re a good part of the way there.”
Meanwhile, it’s getting interest from mobile providers, OEMs and others. It’s talking with Dish Network, which is building a standalone (SA) 5G network.
Fastback’s customers include Tier 1 wireless operators in North America and it’s expected to support Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) technology that operators are deploying as part of 5G.
Fastback’s solutions are in unlicensed bands and DragonWave’s are generally supporting the licensed backhaul bands. Together, they represent a comprehensive solution for ComSovereign, according to CTO Dustin McIntire.
“We’re putting together a comprehensive solution set with some key technology enablers,” he said. One of its business units is engaged with open RAN and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP).
The Fastback transaction is subject to several closing conditions and is expected to close within about 30 days.