Representatives
of Metawave will be in the HUB on Friday, February 25, from 9:00
a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Metawave Communications Corp. is a privately-held wireless equipment manufacturer whose mission is to reduce the cost of wireless capacity. Metawave’s smart antenna systems allow wireless operators to increase the capacity of their network infrastructure and avoid investment in new cell sites and costly equipment upgrades. Available for digital and analog networks, Metawave’s smart antennas have been deployed by leading wireless operators in North America, South America and Europe. Metawave was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Redmond, Wash.
As wireless telephony moves
into the mainstream, an operator’s finite radio frequency (RF) spectrum must
do more, for more people. To keep pace with subscriber growth and increased
usage, wireless service operators are under tremendous pressure to increase the
capacity of their networks. In addition, wireless operators face the challenge
of maintaining acceptable call quality as more and more subscribers crowd fixed
frequency allocations. Unfortunately, the conventional strategy for expanding
wireless networks is expensive and not always effective—new cell sites can
cost as much as $.5 million, and regulatory and zoning restrictions can
limit new site development.
Metawave’s smart antenna systems work with an operator’s existing cell site equipment to improve network capacity, coverage, and call quality. Smart antenna systems replace conventional cell site antennas with a multibeam antenna array that enables more precise and flexible control of a cell’s RF coverage. The antenna’s radiation pattern is controlled by integrated spectrum management technology—which is what makes the systems “smart.” Metawave’s proprietary software-based technology enhances cell site performance and capacity by allowing the system to respond to user inputs and changing conditions in the RF environment.
SpotLight® is a smart antenna system that improves the capacity and performance of CDMA, analog and GSM networks. The system allows wireless operators to expand their service capabilities while lowering their capital investment. Cell sites equipped with SpotLight can support more wireless minutes than conventional cell sites. Rather than adding more cell sites, operators can use SpotLight to get more capacity from their cell sites. As a targeted capacity expansion solution, SpotLight provides operators with a valuable complement to their network growth strategy.
Metawave takes a total system view of spectrum management. Spectrum management starts with the SpotLight smart antenna system and continues with Metawave’s comprehensive support services, including RF engineering, installation, optimization, training, and round-the-clock customer support. Metawave has also developed RF planning software tools that model multibeam antenna systems for use during system deployment and optimization.
Metawave was founded in 1995 by key cellular technologists from U S WEST NewVector and executives experienced in commercializing wireless communications products. In May 1998, Metawave moved its headquarters to a new 96,000-square-foot facility to accommodate the company’s rapid growth and expansion of its manufacturing operations. In June 1999, the company opened offices in Taipei, Taiwan and Shanghai, China to support the development and commercialization of its smart antenna product for GSM.
Metawave is a privately held company. Since its founding in 1995, Metawave has raised over $140 million in venture capital financing. Company investors include Venrock Associates, Oak Investment Partners, Sevin Rosen Funds, Integral Capital Partners, Worldview Technology Partners, Bowman Capital Management, MeriTech Capital Partners, General Motors Investment Management, and two Merrill Lynch Funds.
* Please visit
our site at www.metawave.com to learn more about the company and employment opportunities in software
development, engineering and other technical positions.