Aether Systems acquires RTS Wireless

Adding a complementary piece to its product portfolio, Aether Systems, Inc. (Owings Mills, MD) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire RTS Wireless Inc., a developer of software systems connecting the Internet to a broad array of wireless devices. The acquisition fills in key components of Aether's product roadmap to unify and broaden its product suite while enhancing its current offerings to the carrier and ISP market.

Based in Plainview, New York, RTS Wireless provides carrier-class wireless Internet infrastructure technology and products and services including two-way short messaging services (SMS), instant messaging and unified messaging. The RTS Wireless Advantage System provides Web content transformation and delivery services to virtually any wireless device, including cell phones, pagers, hand-held PCs and on-board computers in vehicles.

RTS Wireless customers include many leading carriers, ISPs, and enterprises such as America Online, Alltel Communications, Ameritech, Ericsson, EirCell (Ireland), Motorola, Verizon, and Voicestream.

In addition to the relationships with these companies, Aether will gain a team of 120 wireless engineers among RTS's 200 employees, all with extensive mobile application development experience. The agreement provides for a purchase price of $26 million in cash and approximately 1.3 million shares of Aether stock.

Over the last year, RTS Wireless has established its presence in Europe, where the company has built out both engineering and sales resources to address the opportunities throughout this region. More recently, RTS Wireless' Hong Kong office has made major strides in establishing a sales and marketing presence in the Asia Pacific market and positioning its Web content transformation products in banks, brokerages, ISPs, publishers, and e-commerce companies.
By joining Aether, RTS will now be able to provide its current customers an extended range of products and services on top of the network connectivity it currently offers.

RTS Wireless provides the building blocks—often called the "plumbing"—of the wireless Internet, which includes the interface software between computer systems, wireless networks, and end-user devices. The company's Advantage product line is adaptable wireless and Internet connectivity software that enables wireless and Internet communication to travel freely across a wide variety of platforms. The platforms enable wireless messaging and data transmission between the Internet (or intranets) and mobile devices in a manner similar to the way an IP router manufacturers' products handle IP data packets in local and wide area wired networks.

Edited by Ellen Jensen
Managing Editor, Wireless Networks Online