Motorola has acquired UK-based fixed wireless system specialist Orthogon Systems.

The attraction to Motorola is Orthogon’s expertise in wireless Ethernet networking. The Ashburton-based firm has developed intelligent OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing)-based point-to-point transmission systems.

As a result the US firm expects to enhance its own OFDM capability and broaden the support of its MOTOwi4 wireless broadband systems including WiMAX and Mesh. “Orthogon is at the forefront of innovation in wireless OFDM point-to-point solutions and is highly complementary to Motorola’s MOTOwi4 wireless broadband capabilities,” said Greg Brown, president of Motorola’s networks business. 

“This is an outstanding transaction for our company and we look forward to taking our solutions to the next level as part of Motorola,” said Philip Bolt, president and CEO of Orthogon. “This combination creates exciting future growth opportunities for Orthogon, our customers and our employees and we look forward to joining the Motorola team.”

Motorola has an existing minority equity investment in Orthogon, which was driven by its venture capital arm, Motorola Ventures. In addition, Motorola has been a distributor of Orthogon’s products since 2004.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory and other customary conditions, is expected to close in the first half of 2006.

www.orthogonsystems.com