SAN JOSE (WiMAX Day). The IP networking solutions company Cisco Systems Inc announced today that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the WiMAX equipment manufacturer Navini Networks. Based in Richardson, Texas, Navini is one of the few large privately-held vendors of wireless broadband and WiMAX equipment. The seven-year-old company has grown substantially in the last two years, and counts installations in over 70 commercial networks around the world.

Cisco said today in a press release, that it will pay approximately US$330 million in cash and assumed options for Navini. The acquisition is expected to close in Q2 2008. Cisco said that upon the closing of the acquisition, the Navini business will be integrated into Cisco’s Wireless Networking Business Unit, under the Ethernet and Wireless Technology Group.

The announcement from Cisco ends weeks of speculation that the company was trawling for a WiMAX acquisition. It has been rumoured that Cisco also looked at other potential WiMAX acquisitions, including Airspan Networks, Alvarion and Redline Communications, all publicly-quoted companies.

This is a significant move by Cisco and provides the company with an easy entrance into the wireless broadband and WiMAX markets. In a prepared statement, Cisco senior vice president/general manager, Service Provider Technology Group, Tony Bates, said “it helps to realize our corporate mobility vision to deliver rich user experiences anytime, anywhere, and across any network. In conjunction with our cable and Ethernet solution sets, WiMAX supports Cisco’s ultimate goal of accelerating the penetration and adoption of broadband worldwide.”

In the last few years Cisco has acquired many WiFi companies and built significant strengths in that market. It is expected that Cisco will do the same in WiMAX, and work to drive innovation in the field. WiMAX will also easily dovetail into Cisco’s service provider businesses.

Cisco said that it sees the growth of wireless broadband as “critical” in emerging markets. “We believe there is a direct correlation between the availability of broadband services and standard of living…. Broadband, arguably, is key to bringing access to the Internet and to the average consumer,” said Tony Bates.

With the acquisition of Navini, Bates said that with its strength in emerging markets, “Cisco is now particularly well positioned to address the immediate market needs in emerging markets.”