Press Releases

Ruckus Wireless Receives Widespread Attention for Smart Wi-Fi Innovations

Pioneering Efforts in Revolutionary Computer Network Technology for the Home Bring Silicon Valley Startup Global Recognition

SUNNYVALE, CA, May 23, 2006 – Ruckus Wireless today announced that during the past 30 days it has amassed awards from several prestigious organizations for its technology innovation, pioneering efforts, individual contributions and product successes in the area of “smart Wi-Fi” for the home. Some of the industry honors Ruckus Wireless has received include being named to or winning the award for:

  • The 2006 Red Herring 100
  • The Fierce 15 by Fierce Wireless
  • Light Reading’s Top 10 List of Private Companies
  • Always On’s On Hollywood 100
  • The 2006 Fast 50 by Fast Company
  • Best Consumer Wireless Product of 2006 (Wireless Broadband Innovation Award)
  • Individual Achievement for 2006: Selina Lo (Wireless Broadband Innovation Award)
  • Individual Achievement for 2006: Selina Lo (Stevie International Business Award)

“When you make a ruckus, you do get noticed,” said Selina Lo, president and CEO of Ruckus Wireless. “We’ve defied conventional belief and engineered something special, something truly useful to consumers around the world. The Ruckus rocket science has been proven in a line of products that is helping consumers and service providers exploit the digital multimedia revolution.” Lo noted that a novel idea or a great product is only part of building a successful company. Market demand and timing are essential along with developing company culture that fosters an open and apolitical working environment, rewards the ruthless pursuit of technical excellence, and is obsessed with making customers “insanely happy.” “These are the things that bring companies true success,” she added.

“Ruckus Wireless is fortunate to be sandwiched between two undeniable market trends: the delivery of digital content over broadband networks and the explosion of Wi-Fi inside the home,” said Gaurav Garg, partner at Sequoia Capital. “The company is merging these two phenomena to the benefit of both consumers and carriers.”

Ruckus Wireless is credited with building the first smart Wi-Fi system that allows real-time digital video, voice, music and data to all be reliably transported throughout the home over standard Wi-Fi. The innovation made by Ruckus Wireless allows a Wi-Fi system, based on off-the-shelf, commoditized chips, to automatically adapt to changing radio frequency (RF) conditions in the home to deliver stable, predictable and long-range Wi-Fi signals capable of supporting multimedia applications such as IPTV.

Awards Galore!

Announced today, Ruckus Wireless CEO, Selina Lo, was named the winner of the International Stevie Award for Individual Achievement in the 2006 International Business Awards. The International Business Awards are the only global, all-encompassing business awards program honoring great performances in the workplace. Recipients of 82 International Stevie Awards were selected from more than 700 nominations from companies and individuals in more than 30 countries.

Announced yesterday, the 2006 Red Herring 100 North America is a list of 100 privately-held companies that play a leading role in innovating the technology business. After receiving more than 1,000 submissions and nominations, Red Herring’s editorial staff rigorously evaluated Ruckus Wireless and the other contenders through a careful analysis of financial data and subjective criteria, including quality of management, execution of strategy, and dedication to research and development. The Red Herring 100 North America companies are at the forefront of the technologies that are changing our lives in profound ways.

“With venture capital flowing again, we’re seeing a lot of innovative new companies taking on the established players with disruptive technologies and innovative business plans,” said Joel Dreyfuss, Editor-in-Chief of Red Herring. “The Red Herring 100 North America companies, among them Ruckus Wireless, are pushing and breaking the boundaries of the technology business and we are excited to report on their success stories.”

Last week, Ruckus Wireless was also awarded Best Consumer Wireless Product by the Broadband Wireless Innovation (BWI) Awards in the U.K., the hotly contested independent awards for users and service providers of broadband wireless worldwide. Additionally, Selina Lo was the first female to be honored with the Wireless Individual Achievement award for her leadership, inspiration to the industry and accomplishments throughout her career.

Just one week earlier Ruckus Wireless was named to the 2006 Fierce Wireless Fierce 15, a distinction which honors it as one of the top 15 emerging wireless companies for 2006.

And earlier this month Ruckus Wireless was named to Always On’s OnHollywood 100, a power list of the top private digital media and entertainment companies selected from over 1,000 companies. The OnHollywood 100 is peer-nominated by leading venture capitalists, investment bankers and industry analysts. Ruckus Wireless was handpicked by the team of judges based on a set of five criteria – innovation, market potential, customer adoption, media buzz and investor value creation.

What’s the Big Deal?

Ruckus Wireless recently brought to market the first in-home smart Wi-Fi system capable of reliably transporting digital TV signals over standard Wi-Fi throughout the home. According to analysts, in-home networking has become one of the biggest unresolved problems facing the rollout and delivery of new digital broadband services to consumers.

Ruckus Wireless has landed deals with a number of triple play providers around the globe, including Hong Kong’s PCCW, Ireland’s Magnet Entertainment, Finland’s Maxisat, Pioneer Telephone Cooperative in Oklahoma and a large number of U.S.-based rural broadband providers. These companies are all using the Ruckus MediaFlex system as a next-generation wireless platform to enable and distribute emerging broadband digital services, such as IPTV, to their subscribers.

The Ruckus Wireless smart Wi-Fi system is based on patent-pending technology that selects the best RF path at any given time for a specific type of multimedia content. Instead of broadcasting Wi-Fi signals in all directions, Ruckus technology directs Wi-Fi signals over the best path to a given receiver. If, however, that path experiences interference, the Ruckus Wireless system automatically steers the traffic over another path in real-time and ensures up to 20 Mbps of consistent bandwidth to every location in the home so there is no interruption in Wi-Fi transmissions.