ASX-listed telco equipment provider Netcomm Wireless, chaired by...

ASX-listed telco equipment provider Netcomm Wireless, chaired by former ABC head honcho Justin Milne, says it’s ready for prime time thanks to the global reach of its US suitor Casa Systems.

Casa lobbed a $161 million all-cash offer for Netcomm in February and is on track to acquire the company in June, pending approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board.

The offer landed at an opportune time for Netcomm after it had warned investors to expect a flat 2019. The company’s CEO Steve Collins said the deal would open doors for its hardware.

“That tactic hurts us, so scale is really important and doing it organically is hard. Casa helps us grow quickly.”

Netcomm’s kit is used in fixed-wireless broadband networks, with the company’s technology used in the fixed-wireless portion of the National Broadband Network. It is now hoping to directly take on the likes of Nokia and Netgear globally thanks to Casa’s reach.

Netcomm’s latest pitch to the market is 5G fixed-wireless access points that can be self-installed at homes and the company’s director of marketing and communications, Els Baert, said the kit could make the delivery of fixed-wireless services easier.

“Self-install will be a big driver for 5G fixed-wireless services because once the homeowner can install their own modem, the telco can sign up customers quicker,” she said. “Installing the modem takes very little time, it’s easy and we are already competing with the big companies in Australia, but Casa now helps us go global.”

The US company’s boss, Jerry Guo, said Netcomm’s self-install technology was the missing link in its product portfolio, especially as 5G fixed-wireless services hit the markets in the US and South Korea.

“We were initially discussing a potential partnership because we saw the complementary nature of the products from both companies,” he told The Australian.

“Casa provides the infrastructure technology while Netcomm provides the access devices which connect with our technology to provide an end to end solution, so it’s a perfect partnership.

“We are now looking to offer more solutions to NBN Co once the deal is complete.”

Mr Guo added that fixed wireless was clearly the first major application of 5G. “5G is a huge enabler for fixed wireless because it broadens its reach from hard to reach areas to much denser areas,” he said. “It brings fixed wireless into urban areas and allows it to compete directly against fixed broadband, something you couldn’t do with 4G.”

Netcomm shareholders will vote on the Casa deal in June.