Siemens Acquires WLAN Switch Vendor Chantry Networks

MANHASSET, N.Y. — Wireless LAN switch vendor Chantry Networks has agreed to be acquired by Siemens Communications in a deal that complements Siemens' HiPath portfolio while adding to a shakeout in the burgeoning WLAN switch market.

That shakeout started in the fall with the demise of AirFlow networks and Legra. Chantry (Waltham, Mass.) will join Siemens' HiPath portfolio in a deal scheduled to close in early 2005.

Chantry's specialty has been managing the convergence of voice and data with integrated security, as embodied in its BeaconWorks product line. The architecture also allows for creating secure virtual WLANs, and the architecture is said by the company to be ready for later integration of WiMAX. Access points are designed so that devices from different third-party manufacturers can be integrated.

With Chantry, Siemens will expand its communications architecture for corporate customers and strengthen its position in that sector.

"In the growth area of WLAN, we will also now be able to offer our customers future-oriented solutions," Andy Mattes, a member of the Group Board of Siemens Communications, said in a statement. "With the Chantry team and its BeaconWorks product line we have found just the right partner to optimally supplement our portfolio with wireless voice-data convergence."