Pivotal Commware, a global provider in 5G mmWave (millimeter wave) infrastructure products, announced the closing of a [$102 million (€93.46 million)] Series D round led by Gates Frontier and Tracker Capital. Joining them as co-leads in the round are funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, LLC, and Blue Investment Group.
Among Pivotal’s existing investors, Verizon Ventures, Devonshire Investors, Thermo Companies, DIG Investment XV AB and Lux Capital also participated. Pivotal products, applications and services deliver solutions for fixed wireless access (FWA) households to mobile network operators (MNOs) at a low total cost of ownership (TCO) and with fast time-to-revenue. By re-directing mmWave signals beyond line-of-sight, Pivotal’s Pivot 5G repeaters extend the wireless coverage area of radio access networks (RANs).
“As data demand grows, a country’s economic success and social development will require widespread access to the Internet, and mmWave is foundational to bring this about,” says Glenn Lurie, Pivotal board member, and former president and CEO of AT&T Mobility. “Verizon’s leadership in 5G and mmWave in particular has positioned both Verizon and Pivotal for sustained success.”
“Pivotal is contributing to mobile network operators (MNOs) around the world getting their fair share of the broadband market, valued at [$100 billion (€91.66 billion)] in the US alone,” says Shaygan Kheradpir, senior advisor to Tracker Capital and the technology-telecom team lead at Cerberus Capital Management. “We think Pivotal will be a leading light among future telecom infrastructure providers.”
“Customer demand for data continues to climb and that increased customer demand will benefit from the higher capacity found at mmWave frequencies,” says Brian Deutsch, CEO of Pivotal Commware. “We are delighted to have investors like Gates Frontier, Tracker Capital, and Verizon who share our vision for the future of our crucial and rapidly expanding industry.”
“The number of mmWave CPEs deployed for FWA will triple in four years. Heck, it will almost double in the next 12 months,” comments Joe Madden, chief analyst at Mobile Experts Inc. “The technology has been proven over the past two years, and now the operators are stepping on the accelerator.”
The new capital raised will provide the opportunity to invest in Pivotal Turnkey to drive mmWave FWA coverage for MNOs. Capital and cash flow from operations will also be used to develop next generation software and hardware products and solutions. Citigroup acted as placement agent to Pivotal Commware.
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