MeshNetworks: A start-up to watch

By Ann Bednarz
Network World, 04/29/02

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Company name: Derived from the mesh architecture of its mobile broadband technology.

Origin: Founded in January 2000 by Richard Licrusi and Peter Stanforth of venture development firm Milcom Technologies.

Funding: $27 million in two rounds in 2000.

Key investors: 3Com Ventures, Apax Partners, BancBoston Ventures, ITT Industries and Redwood Ventures.

CEO: Masood Garahi, who led development of Skytel's pioneering two-way messaging system.

Products: Digital ASIC and reference designs; technology licenses; mobile broadband PC cards; routing and networking software; and infrastructure products.

MeshNetworks has a vision of self-forming, self-healing wireless networks. In its world, the devices are the network. Cell phones, PDAs and laptops running MeshNetworks's proprietary peer-to-peer mobile routing protocol act as router-repeaters for every other subscriber device on the network. A MeshNetworks device that is out of range of a typical access point could "hop" through neighboring devices or wireless routers to reach the next network access point, without disrupting other sessions. Devices equipped with the MeshNetworks software discover and share routing information, and reconfigure routes when a device is added to or subtracted from the network or congestion builds.

Today, the company offers all the pieces needed to build its ad hoc networks, including routing and networking software, mobile broadband PC cards, wireless routers, access points and a mobile switching controller to connect access points to wired networks. But the Maitland, Fla., company doesn't intend to stay in the gear business. If it can clear the hurdle of convincing service providers and gear makers of the validity of its approach, the company will focus on licensing its routing and management technology to device and infrastructure manufacturers, who will then develop commercial products for consumers, corporations and wireless network operators. Officials say the company hasn't signed any big licensing contracts yet, but that MeshNetworks has teamed with fixed-wireless broadband network provider Air2LAN to offer trials of its multihopping technology in select areas.