Jio US Subsidiary To Buy Mimosa To Expand 5G, Broadband Services

Radisys, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jio, has made the deal with Airspan, which acquired Mimosa in 2018.

Reliance Jio on Thursday announced that it will buy communications equipment maker Mimosa Networks for $60 million from US-based Airspan Networks Holdings. The move marks a crucial step for the firm in further expanding its 5G and broadband services.  Radisys Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jio Platforms Limited has made the deal with Airspan Networks Holdings. Airspan acquired Mimosa in 2018 to target cost-effective fixed wireless access network connections. 

According to a company press release, Mimosa has a diverse portfolio of point-to-point and point-to-multi-point products based on WiFi-5 and the newer WiFi-6E technologies as well as related accessories, such as twist-on antennas, and PoE Injectors. These solutions have use cases in the backhaul requirements for 5G and FTTX/ FWA rollouts. Jio has been a major customer of Mimosa. 

Mathew Oommen, President, Jio, said, “Acquisition of Mimosa will further accelerate Jio’s innovation and leadership in the production of telecom network products that deliver value to consumers and enterprises across the globe with cost-effective, rapidly deployable fixed and mobile broadband.” 

Reliance Jio Infocomm USA Inc, a wholly owned step-down subsidiary of Jio is a shareholder of Airspan and maintains a seat on its Board of Directors, the company said. 

Jio has been ramping up 5G and broadband services across the country after winning the 5G spectrum bid worth $11 billion last year. 

On Wednesday, the company also announced that it is launching its 5G services in 27 more cities across 13 states and union territories, extending its network of ultra-high-speed telephony to a total of 331 cities in India.

According to the company's statement, Jio users in the 27 newly added cities will be invited to the Jio Welcome Offer starting March 8, 2023, where they can experience unlimited data at speeds of up to 1 Gbps at no extra cost. Mukesh Ambani, the company's billionaire chairman, had previously announced that Jio's 5G services would be available throughout the country by the end of 2023.

The transaction is subject to certain regulatory and other customary closing conditions, as well as approval by Airspan's senior lender, and is expected to complete in the third quarter of 2023, the statement said.