PCTEL acquires Ascom’s scanning receiver business

BLOOMINGDALE, USA: PCTEL Inc., a leader in propagation and wireless network optimization solutions and Ascom announced today that PCTEL had acquired all of the assets related to the Ascom scanning receiver business.

This business was a small part of Comarco’s Wireless Test Solutions (WTS), a business that Ascom acquired in 2008. Under the agreement, PCTEL will continue to supply both PCTEL and WTS scanning receivers to the newly formed Ascom Network Testing Division that consolidated the testing businesses for mobile telecom carriers of Ascom.

PCTEL will pay $4.5 million for the scanning receiver business. $4.3 million at close and $200,000 upon achievement of certain objectives. In addition to the acquisition of the assets, PCTEL will assume warranty obligations, and will fund the development of compatibility between PCTEL’s scanning receivers and Ascom’s benchmarking solution. Separately, the companies will renew their existing supply agreement, which will remain non-exclusive.

“PCTEL views this as a win-win for our two companies,” says Marty Singer, PCTEL’s Chairman and CEO. “We will continue to do what we do best: design, develop, and support best-in-class scanning receivers for the wireless industry and Ascom’s Network Testing Division will focus its resources on providing operators worldwide with leading-edge test and measurement products and world-class support,” added Singer.

“The PCTEL scanning receiver has been a relevant element of the TEMS product portfolio and the ex-Comarco WTS scanning receivers have been an integral element of our benchmarking solution for the US market,” says Riet Cadonau, CEO of Ascom.

“We concluded that we could also entirely maintain our benchmarking customer commitments while relying upon PCTEL to manage the development and delivery of the scanning receiver technology. Importantly, this divestiture sharpens our focus on what we do best, after we have defined the combined Network Testing product portfolio of the new Ascom division Network Testing, to meet our customers’ needs the best,” adds Cadonau.