Cirtek invests in Silicon Valley pioneer’s firm

Laguna-based electronics manufacturer Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. has entered as a “cornerstone” investor in CloudMondo, a US-based startup company set up by Silicon Valley technopreneur Dado Banatao that seeks to establish a global high-bandwidth Wi-Fi network.

Cirtek, which trades on the Philippine Stock Exchange under the ticker TECH, is expected to manufacture and supply millimeter wave radios in the 60 to 80 gigahertz (Ghz) spectrum to CloudMondo.

Cirtek chief finance officer Anthony Buyawe said Cirtek was a “cornerstone” investor, or an institutional investor that provides equity to a company that is about to go public.

“The investment structure is via preferred shares convertible to common shares upon listing in an exchange, at which time the equity value will be determined,” Buyawe said.

CloudMondo chief executive officer Ihab Abu-Hakima said the development comes at an opportune time. “In much of the developing world, Wi-FI access is too expensive and characterized by slow, unreliable connectivity. At the same time, you see the continuing growth of over-the-top (OTT) value-added services to address the growth in e-business. The visions of CloudMondo is to establish a global, high-bandwidth Wi-Fi network and create a global marketplace for a broad portfolio of OTT services,” he said in a press statement.

“We are pleased with the opportunity to be a strategic co-investor in CloudMondo. Our involvement puts TECH in an excellent position to jump-start and expand our business from manufacturing to connectivity and content,” Cirtek chair Jerry Liu added.

The pilot deployment of the CloudMondo network is scheduled early this year, with Manila among the pilot areas. Operations will then be scaled up and expanded, initially in Southeast Asia.

Cirtek earlier named Banatao, called the Filipino Bill Gates, as an adviser to its board, raising its profile in the global electronics market. Cirtek also recently hired investment banker Roberto Juanchito “Jojo” Dispo, formerly head of First Metro Investment Corp., as its president.

Leading global tech companies and e-commerce businesses like Apple, Paypal, Google and Facebook recently announced that they are all moving toward using the 60-80 GHz broadband wireless technology for connectivity as the world enters the era of Internet of Things (IoT), whereby common household appliances and gadgets can be digitally connected with each other.

In the Philippines, Cirtek subsidiary Cirtek Advanced Technologies and Solutions Inc. (Cirtek ATS), a radio frequency and wireless broadband manufacturing company, seeks to participate in initiatives to roll out free Internet nationwide using the “Super Wi-Fi” technology.

“Super Wi-Fi” or TV White Space (TVWS) is a relatively new and revolutionary technology that enables the utilization of the unused spectrum in the TV broadcast frequency range. This technology, which allows the use of bands that are currently unlicensed, is seen to have superior propagation and penetration characteristics allowing for wider network coverage.