Radio IP buys ipUnplugged

Mobile VPN vendor Radio IP Software yesterday announced its acquisition of ipUnplugged AB, a private Swedish company that has developed a mobile VPN solution that is optimized for wireless broadband networks.

By buying ipUnplugged, Radio IP has a more robust broadband solution to complement its Radio IP MTG product, which is optimized to deliver data services over private wireless networks that typically give priority to mission-critical, narrowband voice applications for public safety, said Radio IP President and CEO Michel Guay.

“Their product is exceptional for Wi-Fi and broadband, which is where we were not as strong with our traditional product,” Guay said during an interview with Urgent Communications. “We decided to buy their assets, [intellectual property], products and everything, so that our portfolio is very complete now — our two products are very complementary.

“With this, we want to expand our customer base outside of traditional public safety to transport and utility, and we want to start going in Europe.”

In the near term, Radio IP will keep the MTG and ipUnplugged platforms independent, but the company hopes to integrate the solutions sometime in 2011, Guay said. Meanwhile, with ipUnplugged’s stronger product offering on the wireless broadband side of the business, Radio IP is positioned to make a strong case to customers in the future, he said.

“Our pitch to public safety is more and more, ‘Your mission-critical data should be on a mission-critical network,'” Guay said. “If you want pictures, video streaming or access to the Internet, you don’t do that through your private, mission-critical networks — you do that through cellular. Our traditional product gives them both. The [ipUnplugged solution] is simpler, cheaper and more optimized for blue-collar government applications … and we think that market is going to open up big time.”

Guay said the purchase of ipUnplugged was completed a few weeks ago, but Radio IP did not want to announce the deal until it could address customer needs and realigned the web sites. The ipUnplugged headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden is being closed, but the employees remain with Radio IP, Guay said.

In separate news, Radio IP plans to release the next generation of its MTG product — allowing mobile VPN access via private, Wi-Fi, cellular broadband or satellite networks — during the third quarter this year, Guay said.