With its products deployed in more than 42 countries to more than 150 customers, DragonWave delivers native Ethernet wireless point-to-point networks for the transport of voice, video, and data

Founded in the heart of Ottawa’s telecom cluster in 2000 and led by a senior management team that earned its stripes at   some of the world’s largest telecommunications companies, DragonWave Inc. offers next-generation wireless capability that rivals the capacity of fiber-based solutions. The hunger for increased bandwidth is driving growth. Revenue increased 67% to $40.4 million in FY2008, and in April 2007 DragonWave netted $32 million from an Initial Public Offering on the London AIM market and Toronto Stock Exchange.

New, high capacity Internet Protocol applications are stressing the capacity of existing networks. DragonWave enables telecom and network service providers to extend existing high capacity broadband networks with wireless backhaul solutions. 

DragonWave’s wireless equipment is based on a native Ethernet platform, and function as a wireless extension to an existing fibre-optic core telecommunications network. The principal application for DragonWave’s products is the backhaul function in a wireless communications network. Additional applications include point-to-point transport in private networks, including municipal and enterprise networks. 

Customers including Clearwire, Sprint, Omnivision, and Mobilink use DragonWave products to rapidly and affordably expand their market coverage and meet increased bandwidth requirements.

Why Ottawa

The majority of the Ottawa region’s 1,800 tech companies are concentrated in the city’s Kanata west end where campuses for Alcatel-Lucent, Nortel Networks, RIM, Cisco and other software and hardware companies dominate Kanata’s “million dollar mile” on March Road.

Kanata is also home to DragonWave. The company’s senior executive team earned its stripes at many of the companies mentioned above, and its Board of Directors include Sir Terence Matthews — the Kanata-based serial telecom entrepreneur who sold Newbridge Networks to Alcatel for $7 billion in 2000, and has since gone on to create more than 60 companies on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. 

Versus the hours-long commutes of Silicon Valley, the traffic chaos of Mumbai or the sky-high real estate prices of London or Boston, most of DragonWave’s employees drive less than a half hour to work and live in safe, friendly communities where an average family home can still be had for less than CDN$300,000. 

While at work, DragonWave’s team can take advantage of a  number of conveniences including a fitness center, a professional golf course, a five-star hotel, as well as numerous eateries and other conveniences.

Business advantage

DragonWave’s Horizon product line provides software controlled scalability, ultra-low latency, wire-speed connectivity up to 1.6 Gbps, full duplex, 99.999% service availability, and a full suite of network management options. 

Ring/mesh network architecture coupled with adaptive modulation and integrated antenna solutions can enable a 
50% reduction in the total life cycle cost compared to conventional designs. 

Other DragonWave advantages include: 

• Backhaul performance:  DragonWave products preserve spectrum for end users and provide high capacity reliable backhaul
• Measurable ROI:  Many DragonWave customers produce payback in 12 months or less versus leased lines
• Quick and flexible capacity:  Customers can increase backhaul capacity with software upgrades up to 1.6 Gbps
• New service set:  With DragonWave equipment, customers can offer new carrier-grade, native Ethernet services 
• Guaranteed performance:  DragonWave guarantees 100% packet deliver with a sub-millisecond port-to-port latency

Future growth plans

Proceeds from DragonWave’s 2007 IPO have fueled record growth in the company. Revenue increase 67% to $40.4 million in FY2008 and the forward market opportunity looks bright. 

In addition to expanding its direct sales force, the DragonLink Partner Program offers Value Added Resellers (VARS), Distributors, and System Integrators the ability to deliver innovative, leading edge high capacity Broadband Ethernet Solutions to a growing global market.

The company’s product portfolio is strongly placed for the growing high capacity wireless backhaul market, and Sprint’s recent decision to select DragonWave products for roll-out in North American validates an excellent leadership position. 

Contact information

DragonWave Inc. 

+1-613-599-9991

www.DragonWaveinc.com

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