Cisco to Acquire Wireless Backhaul Systems Leader Fluidmesh

To meet the ever-growing demand for wireless connectivity in the most challenging times, Cisco revealed its intent to acquire Fluidmesh Networks, a privately-held, New York-based leader in wireless backhaul systems that serves public transit, mining operations, and ports

Fremont, CA: As organizations keep on connecting their infrastructures, wireless connectivity plays a key role in their entire business strategy. To meet the ever-growing demand for wireless connectivity in the most challenging times, Cisco revealed its intent to acquire Fluidmesh Networks, a privately-held, New York-based leader in wireless backhaul systems that serves public transit, mining operations, and ports. Fluidmesh’s leading technology will complement Cisco’s robust industrial wireless portfolio, providing reliable and resilient wireless solutions for mission-critical applications.

Cisco said that the acquisition would strengthen its industrial wireless to include “on-the-move applications” customized to prevent data loss when trains and subways are moving fast — at speeds higher than 186 mph. The purchase is also expected to speed up Cisco’s Industrial IoT business and broaden its reach to partners and users, Cisco said.

Fluidmesh was founded in 2005 by engineers from MIT and the Politecnico di Milano in Italy. The company was acquired by Generation 3 Capital and Waveland Investments, two Chicago private equity firms, in 2011. Cisco and Fluidmesh have already been partners since 2016, when the two companies combined Cisco Connected Rail Solutions and Fluidmesh train-to-ground wireless technology.

“Cisco provides one of the most secure and reliable networking technologies on the market today,” Liz Centoni, who heads Cisco’s Cloud, Compute, and IoT business, said in a statement. “With wireless technology playing a greater role in every organization’s multi-access IoT strategy, reliable wireless connectivity is paramount to organizations operating Industrial IoT environments, whether that’s manufacturing, mining, rail or ports, where wireless technology automates operations to improve safety and lower costs.”

Beyond high speed rail, numerous industries from manufacturing, oil & gas and mining, to shipping ports, are all looking at how they can use wireless connectivity to automate operations to reduce the leaping operational costs. Today, customers are using Fluidmesh’s reliable wireless technologies in a range of industries to improve productivity, safety, and customer experience.

Cisco will use Fluidmesh’s products to extend its industrial wireless leadership position to on-the-move applications and where reliable backhaul is mission-critical, including:

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