Narad Pockets $10 Million More in Private Funding

Narad Networks Inc. on Wednesday announced it has received more than $10 million in private funding, pushing its overall totals past the $100 million mark.

The company will use the latest round of venture capital to expand its coverage and launch its latest switched Ethernet platform.

Narad helps cable operators compete against telcos in the business services market. MSOs including Cablevision Systems Corp. run Narad’s Ethernet technology over their existing coaxial cable to deliver high-speed Internet, VoIP, video and other products to enterprises.

Narad has added a new switch to its FTTx platform for hybrid fiber coax networks. The switch supports gigabit Ethernet over six fiber ports and 100mbps Ethernet over four coaxial cable ports. It also supports wireless access points and standard Ethernet cabling. These are the types of capability fueling investor interest in the company, said Stacy Oaksmith, a spokeswoman for Narad. And, she added, as cable companies prepare to spend millions of dollars deploying business services, they will look to networks such as Narad’s to deliver those services. “There’s a lot of good buzz,” Oaksmith said.

Narad CEO Michael Collette said a number of big-name operators have committed to using Narad’s services in the coming months. "With the investment in cable commercial services skyrocketing, Narad is positioned in the eye of a perfect storm," he said.

Analysts predict cable MSOs will spend more money on infrastructure over the next few years than they have in some time, representing the fastest-growing category of network investment. Increased competition and the need for more bandwidth are fueling that growth, said Tim Savageaux, managing director of research at Merriman Curhan Ford & Co., an investment bank that finds investors for companies such as Narad.

Venture capitalists may be more interested in the infrastructure market than they have been for seven years, but they haven’t even come close to funneling billions of dollars into the sector like they did in 2000. In the third quarter of that year, investors put $3.6 billion into networking and equipment. That’s compared to $190.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2006, according to The MoneyTree Report compiled by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and the National Venture Capital Association, with data from Thomson Financial.

Polaris Venture Partners, Argo Global Capital, Sofinnova and Vertical Group participated in the round. Narad said it will close smaller funding rounds over the next 90 days.

Cablevision Systems Corp. www.cablevision.com  

Narad Networks Inc. www.naradnetworks.com  

Polaris Venture Partners www.polarisventures.com

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