I believe that Tarana charges monthly for the management service. That was part of cambium undoing was they would do a 5 year upfront term for the controller.
On Thu, Oct 1, 2026 at 4:05 PM Mathew Howard <[email protected]> wrote: > I wouldn't be at all surprised if that's true, there could even be > government contracts of one type or another for all of the products that > Airspan acquired. > > I do have to wonder how well Tarana will be able to survive once the BEAD > money runs out. > > On Thu, Oct 1, 2026 at 10:46 AM Ken Hohhof <[email protected]> wrote: > >> The ongoing fiasco at Cambium is so bizarre I feel like I’m watching an >> episode of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe and this is the universe where >> Cambium crashes and burns, and nobody wants to buy the pieces. And in the >> next episode Cambium will be back to normal but something else will be >> bizarre. >> >> >> >> I don’t put much stock in news articles, but some reported this as >> basically Airspan bought Cambium’s defense business and oh by the way got >> some WISP stuff as part of the deal. Could this actually be true? Was >> Airspan mostly interested in the defense oriented PTP700? Which I >> assume is the descendent of the PTP400/500/600/670 which trace back to >> Orthogon and Piping Hot Networks and is probably still designed by the >> Ashburton R&D team? Announcement from 2018: >> >> >> >> >> https://www.cambiumnetworks.com/blog/new-military-color-options-announced-for-ptp-700-from-cambium-networks/ >> >> >> >> With nobody stepping forward so far to rescue ePMP, does this say more >> about the state of the WISP market and FWA in general than about Cambium? >> Do the money people consider fixed wireless a dying market in the face of >> fiber, Starlink and 5G? Even in third world countries which may be slow to >> roll out fiber but I guess can get Starlink? My career has involved a lot >> of products and technologies that became obsolete, like CRT TVs, T1, ISDN, >> dialup and DSL. Are WISPs joining that list? >> >> >> >> Supposedly a lot of BEAD money will go to FWA, it will be interesting to >> see what actually happens, and if Tarana sells a ton of equipment as kind >> of the last man standing. Without a govt subsidy I know I couldn’t make >> the numbers work in flyover country. >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Joe Novak >> *Sent:* Friday, September 25, 2026 12:46 PM >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] RIP Cambium Networks? >> >> >> >> The one common thing both of our views share is firmware taking forever >> to mature a product line. I wonder how much that extended into every other >> part of the business. I've had PMP450 for a few years; it was mature before >> I got into it. I've been with EPMP since the GUI change around version >> 2.4.3, and every new release took several years to mature into a deployable >> product. >> >> >> >> The 450V was way too expensive. I priced it out on release. Tarana was >> within spitting distance of it, and there was no 450MV at launch. At least >> MU-MIMO at scale would have prepared it for the speed plans people demand, >> but it's still vaporware today. >> >> >> >> They are still saying they hope FWA will be back after a short pause. >> Based on how they talked about it I was/is assuming they might be spun into >> their own unit instead of being parted out, especially with the cross >> licensing deal going on with Airspan - it just doesn't make much sense to >> me otherwise. >> >> >> >> On Fri, Sep 25, 2026 at 12:17 PM Ken Hohhof <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> I think our beliefs (mine anyway) about how profitable each product line >> was needs to be flipped on its head. If it’s profitable, somebody would >> buy it or invest in it. Apparently the numbers guys decided the Enterprise >> product line was hopeless. The stuff Airspan bought seems to have >> maintained decent gross margins despite not being high growth. ePMP must >> be somewhere inbetween, nobody has rescued it yet but the administrators >> are still funding it and both R&D and support appear to still be in place. >> >> >> >> Prosumer/MSP products like switches, firewalls and WiFi APs are probably >> not high margin products, that may be why Enterprise is no more. Also we >> don’t know if they were consuming a ton of AWS cloud computing dollars, >> that could explain the eagerness to move Enterprise products off cnMaestro >> cloud to on-prem. Here, we’ll upgrade everybody to X, just run it on your >> own hardware or VM. >> >> >> >> If R&D dollars were spread thin, I don’t think ePMP was suffering due to >> 450 and 670/700, nor were those products low margin. There were really no >> new 450 products for a long time other than 450v which was what, 2 years >> ago? And I feel like one major reason 450v wasn’t taking off was the >> firmware development was taking forever. Clearly there was somebody still >> working on it, but promised features were coming out in dribs and drabs >> over 2+ years. Mostly the 450 development folks were doing bug fix >> releases and minor features. No new hardware. As far as 450v, I >> personally believe the other thing holding it back was that other than the >> 450b6, the SMs (both the 2x2 and 4x4) were not suitable for residential >> installs, you would only install them at a business. Maybe this was the >> intent, I don’t know. I bought some, assembled 1 of each, showed them to >> an installer, and we both said “Nope”. Kind of like the first time Sheldon >> met Denise at the comic book store. >> >> >> >> The other thing that was clearly spread thin was cash to have products >> actually manufactured. 450 products would spend 6 months or more in “out >> of stock” status and would be snapped up when some arrived from Thailand. >> I don’t buy a lot of epMP stuff, but it seems like ePMP suffered the same >> fate but not as bad. Not sure of Enterprise. I suspect manufacturing had >> already stopped due to the cash crunch and announcing end of manufacturing >> was just a formality. >> >> >> >> I once worked at a company that was on credit hold with all its vendors, >> I was in R&D and if we did an Engineering Change Order, we had to design >> around parts we could obtain from the vendor to which we owed the least >> amount of money and then we had to get Finance to write a check and hand >> deliver it to get off credit hold. Since Cambium had all their >> manufacturing done by outside contract assembly companies who probably >> procured the parts themselves, chances are that Cambium has been juggling a >> credit hold situation with those assemblers for a long time, maybe years. >> >> >> >> As to what was consuming more than its share of cash, I would look to >> Enterprise. It might have looked like to us outsiders like the most >> promising area, but like I said, if it was profitable somebody would have >> saved it. >> >> >> >> Worst prepackaged bankruptcy ever. You’re supposed to have all this >> worked out beforehand and then get the bankruptcy court to approve it. >> Like you’re not supposed to start looking for a gas station (or charging >> station) when the gauge is already on E. This has been bad for us >> customers, but I have to believe it was bad for creditors as well. But if >> they were the ones standing in the way of a better outcome, I have no >> sympathy for them. >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Joe Novak >> *Sent:* Friday, September 25, 2026 11:26 AM >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] RIP Cambium Networks? >> >> >> >> EVO platform was dead before it started against Tarana, IMO. The current >> view of the EPMP staff on the forums suggests a renewed focus on the core >> platform, EPMP, for whatever comes next. There have been a few posts by >> staff saying the EPMP core team is still there, and still developing and I >> hope that is true. EPMP has the potential to be a solid platform, it just >> seems like it's had an even longer firmware development cycle than >> EPMP3000. If that is because R&D dollars got spread thin among other, >> unprofitable projects -- I'm hoping we see it happen. >> >> >> >> On Fri, Sep 25, 2026 at 10:27 AM Ken Hohhof <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> It seems like the R&D and support people for the product lines acquired >> by Airspan are now Airspan employees. Some sales people too, but not all, >> which is not surprising since Airspan has their own salesforce. >> >> >> >> But has anyone heard about product management? I see absolutely no >> information about the senior managers like Scott Imhoff and Matt >> Mangriotis. I assume there are individual product managers too and I just >> don’t know their names. Are these folks just too busy with the transition >> to post or update their LinkedIn profiles? Is their fate uncertain? Are >> they gone? I would imagine Airspan needs to decide between having the >> existing PM team set the new direction vs putting their own people in >> charge. Beyond the immediate concern of restarting production now that >> they have cash, this will determine what products and features we can buy >> from them in the future. >> >> >> >> I have to assume given what a cluster this was, that the C suite and >> board will be gone. But all that’s tied to what happens to the remaining >> parts of Cambium that haven’t been sold or liquidated, essentially ePMP and >> one fork of cnMaestro. Could Cambium Networks Ltd. get a new infusion of >> cash and continue operating with Morgan Kurk and friends still in charge? >> They might get new financing and continue operating, but I can’t believe >> top management will still be around. They may already be quietly gone. >> >> >> >> And with PMP450 split off from ePMP, I assume the EVO converged platform >> is gone (if it was ever real). Airspan must have some plan to compete with >> Tarana though. The question would seem to be whether backward >> compatibility with the deployed base is a necessity. Lots of things are >> possible from an R&D perspective if given a clean sheet. But when would it >> come out, where would the FWA market be at that time, would anyone be doing >> greenfield FWA deployments by then? EVO was no doubt a response to these >> considerations, but I wasn’t optimistic about it. Let’s hope Airspan has >> some brilliant ideas, or that Cambium product management had some that can >> now be pursued. >> >> >> >> But what is the status of people like Scott and Matt? Any rumors? >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Adam Moffett >> *Sent:* Thursday, September 24, 2026 12:18 PM >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] RIP Cambium Networks? >> >> >> >> It's been a minute since I did anything with LTE, but I don't recall >> interference between our own sites being a bigger deal than with anything >> else. Interference from someone else's WiMax thing was definitely a >> problem. I left that behind before CBRS really got properly rolling, so >> you've probably seen more than I have. >> >> >> >> Actually, I do recall that if you had uplink issues (whether interference >> or congestion or whatever) that the eNB could miss CQI messages from the UE >> and it would just kick them off. Like your connection could work >> acceptably well, but you get kicked anyway if too many of those get missed, >> and then you're offline for a minute or two while it reconnects. I thought >> Telrad was bullshitting me about it at first, but then I thought about the >> times my cell phone would suddenly stop doing data even though it had 2-3 >> bars. >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> on behalf of Joe Novak < >> [email protected]> >> *Sent:* Thursday, September 24, 2026 12:37 PM >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] RIP Cambium Networks? >> >> >> >> You know how 450/450M handles interference? LTE _really_ hates any >> interference. I believe the used Nokia equipment offers better value; I >> think people talked about deploying entire sites for around 10k-12k, 4 >> sector array, with an opensource eNB. >> >> >> >> On Thu, Sep 24, 2026 at 10:50 AM Ken Hohhof <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Looks like Airspan AirHarmony 4200 CBRS LTE basestation is $4500 not >> including antennas, CPE is $300. Maybe this is a product we should have at >> least considered at some point. I wonder if it does magic things because >> it’s LTE. >> >> >> >> Wikipedia says Airspan was spun off from DSC, a big telecom equipment >> manufacturer, and that AirHarmony was an internal development not through >> an acquisition. >> >> >> >> Does Cambium still have an LTE product? I thought that went away. 60 >> GHz might be interesting to them for small cell backhaul. >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Jason McKemie >> *Sent:* Thursday, September 24, 2026 5:35 AM >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] RIP Cambium Networks? >> >> >> >> Does Airspan have a large international business? They've been around a >> long time, but never seemed to have nearly the presence that the companies >> they've acquired had previous to becoming part of Airspan. >> >> >> >> On Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 12:58 PM castarritt <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Airspan bought PMP450 and some other stuff. >> >> >> https://www.cambiumnetworks.com/blog/airspan-acquires-fixed-wireless-product-lines-from-cambium-networks/ >> >> >> >> On Sun, Sep 20, 2026 at 11:51 PM Mathew Howard <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >> According to Google AI, the airfiber 5xHd was released in 2018 and the >> first LTU ptmp radios in early 2020. >> >> >> >> On Sun, Sep 20, 2026, 10:17 PM Ken Hohhof <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> FWIW, Gary Schulz's LinkedIn profile says VP Engineering Aug 2010 - Aug >> 2020. Nothing after that. How does that line up with LTU release? >> >> Exactly 10 years. What's the significance? Stock option vesting? Bought >> an island and retired? >> >> >> >> On September 20, 2026 7:58:55 PM CDT, Mathew Howard <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >> Yeah, they did develop a custom chip (ASIC, if I remember correctly) for >> the LTU radios. The airfiber 5xHD PTP radio was the first product using it. >> They're decent radios, but never quite lived up to the hype. I think they >> original airfiber 5x would have performed better in most cases, except that >> the HD supported up to 100mhz channels instead of only 50mhz. I never used >> the PtMP version, but it seemed pretty mediocre from what I saw. As far as >> I know, they're still in production, but they don't really seem to be doing >> any development anymore. >> >> >> >> I'm not sure how involved the old Canopy team was with that project, or >> if they were even still there at that point. >> >> >> >> >> >> On Sun, Sep 20, 2026, 7:16 PM Ken Hohhof <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Didn’t Ubiquiti go the route of developing a custom chip at the Chicago >> R&D center (the old Canopy crew) for the later airFiber models? And was >> this same silicon used for their LTU line of PMP radios? I never used LTU, >> is it still an active product? Sounds like it’s being phased out. >> >> >> >> It would seem that’s the tradeoff for cost reducing something like >> PMP450, turning the FPGA into customer silicon. But you lose the ability >> to change that part of the design, you can still change the firmware. >> >> >> >> I feel like the companies like Analog Devices and Altera have continued >> to advance the functionality in their programmable chips aimed at the >> Software Defined Radio market. Probably driven by SDR applications like 5G >> cellular and maybe satellite and military. I think when I glanced at an >> FCC report for a Tarana radio they were using silicon like that, but they >> may also have their own custom chips for some functions. And I feel like >> today’s 450i, 450m and 450b radios have much more capable programmable >> silicon than Canopy or the original 430 and 450 radios. >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Mathew Howard >> *Sent:* Sunday, September 20, 2026 4:26 PM >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] RIP Cambium Networks? >> >> >> >> At the time, it probably wasn't possible to hit the price point they >> needed to with 450. I'm sure the FPGA and whatever else needs to go into a >> 450 costs a lot more than the SOC in an ePMP. >> >> >> >> At this point, from my perspective anyway, ePMP seems positioned a lot >> better for the future than 450. >> >> >> >> On Sun, Sep 20, 2026, 3:18 PM [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> I never understood why they invented the ePMP in the first place. If >> they wanted a lower cost product just spin a lower cost version of the >> 450. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> on behalf of Ken Hohhof < >> [email protected]> >> *Sent:* Sunday, September 20, 2026 1:40 PM >> *To:* 'AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group' <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] RIP Cambium Networks? >> >> >> >> If true (and probably is), I don’t understand why buy the PMP450 business >> and not also pick up ePMP if it can be done for $4-$5 million. >> >> >> >> ePMP does not strike me as low margin product that loses money. And if >> someone else buys it, that could be a competitor and you could regret it. >> Better to buy it and figure out how to migrate the customers to 450 if you >> want to shut it down. You could also avoid some complexity selling off >> cloud based systems like cnMaestro that support both products. >> >> >> >> I figured if the buyer is Airspan they might consider ePMP redundant with >> Mimosa, but it looks like they no longer own Mimosa? I had low confidence >> in the EVO plan, but even if you give up on the converged platform, for >> that little money some companies would buy ePMP just to shut it down and >> eliminate a competitor. (Larry Ellison would do it. Google or Amazon >> would do it.) Maybe do the shutdown gracefully so as not to piss off >> PMP450 customers any more than has already been done. Because some WISPs >> use both products. Mine is basically a PMP450 shop but I’ve got some Force >> 300 at customer prem and Force 425 backhauls. >> >> >> >> Maybe it’s something crazy like when Airspan sold Mimosa they agreed not >> to have any future WiFi chip based products and therefore they are legally >> prohibited from buying ePMP. That’s pretty far fetched. >> >> >> >> Or maybe they don’t want the products or the customers, they want the >> design team for new projects. I find it interesting to peruse LinkedIn and >> try to figure out where Tarana hired all their R&D people. Or look at what >> Ubiquiti did when they hired most of the Canopy engineers to staff their >> airFiber design center. They managed to do it without buying the company >> though. >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Tyson Burris >> *Sent:* Friday, September 18, 2026 2:25 PM >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] RIP Cambium Networks? >> >> >> >> I have no direct knowledge of any of this, but I have now had several >> people openly tell me the following: >> >> The PMP 450 product line is supposedly being purchased by Airspan, which >> itself previously went through bankruptcy and later became a privately held >> company. >> >> I have also heard that the ePMP business was being shopped for somewhere >> in the $4-$5 million range. >> >> None of this really makes sense to me. Cambium was still doing roughly >> $35-$45 million in sales per quarter. It seems like deeper workforce >> reductions and the discontinuation of underperforming product lines should >> have happened much earlier rather than allowing the situation to >> deteriorate to this point. >> >> There is a lot of head-scratching over the whole situation because, from >> the outside, U.S. sales still appear to be largely intact. While the stock >> itself is delisted and on the non-filer expert market, it is still trading >> though worthless. >> >> *Tyson Burris* >> *President & CEO* >> >> >> >> Internet Communications Inc (ICI) >> >> 739 Commerce Dr. Franklin, IN 46131 >> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/739+Commerce+Dr.+Franklin,+IN+46131?entry=gmail&source=g> >> >> >> >> >> 317-412-1540 <(317)%20412-1540> (emergency/after-hours) >> 317-738-0320 <(317)%20738-0320> (office) >> [email protected] >> www.surfici.net >> >> >> >> >> >> *Fixed Wireless & Fiber Broadband Solutions* >> *PtP / PtMP • Indoor & Outdoor Wi-Fi • IP Cameras • MDUs* >> >> *Member: **WISPA.ORG* <http://WISPA.ORG>* | **NBBC.COOP* >> <http://NBBC.COOP> >> ------------------------------ >> >> >> *Confidentiality NoticeThis email and any attachments may contain >> confidential or proprietary information intended solely for the use of the >> individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended >> recipient, please notify the sender immediately and delete this message. >> Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited.* >> >> >> *No Binding AgreementThis email does not constitute a binding agreement >> or contract unless it expressly states otherwise and refers to a written >> agreement executed by authorized representatives of all parties. Any views >> or opinions expressed are those of the sender and do not necessarily >> reflect those of the company.* >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Ken Hohhof >> *Sent:* Friday, September 18, 2026 3:15 PM >> *To:* 'AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group' <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] RIP Cambium Networks? >> >> >> >> It’s a challenge trying to decipher the communication and activity or >> lack thereof from Cambium. Like they just did an ePMP firmware release, >> although maybe just to move it from RC to release status. Support is still >> available and guidance is being issued on transitioning to cnMaestro >> onprem. Very quiet regarding PMP. >> >> >> >> If I had to take a guess, I’d say all this indicates (1) they have a >> buyer lined up for PMP, (2) they are trying to find a buyer for ePMP and >> have some hopes that can be accomplished, and (3) the Enterprise stuff is >> being flushed. (anybody remember “getting flushed” from Men In Black?) If >> that’s true, it would be the exact reverse of what I would have expected, I >> would have expected the new switching and WiFi stuff to be hot, ePMP to be >> warm, and legacy 450 to get flushed. >> >> >> >> I echo what Dev says about the people there. Obviously at the top >> levels, mistakes were made (to quote Ronald Reagan). Somebody dropped the >> ball either on financial or M&A management or both. Chuck will recognize >> the acronym CFIT. >> >> >> >> But all the individuals we deal with are as Dev said, solid folks. My >> network is 450 with a smattering of ePMP and licensed PTP, so I mostly know >> people on the PMP side. The head of PMP Product Management is Matt >> Mangriotis, and I hope he stays or if not that he lands somewhere good. >> Maybe because I spent 20 years around 1980-2000 in telecom equipment >> engineering management, so I might have an old fashioned concept of what a >> Product Manager does, but Matt is very professional and well qualified, and >> has always responded quickly and rolled up his sleeves to solve problems. >> I’ve talked to him at trade shows, and never felt I was getting hype or >> spin. Yes, 450 had some questionable product direction decision over the >> years that didn’t work out so well or that I disagreed with, not sure who >> to blame for those. But Matt as well as all the support people I’ve dealt >> with are indeed solid folks. >> >> >> >> Unfortunately there’s no way this adventure doesn’t negatively impact >> whatever remains of Cambium, or that some good people don’t end up leaving >> because of the uncertainty. It’s always the best people who can easily >> find a job elsewhere. Customers and distributors may also avoid them, even >> under new ownership. I don’t know about creditors especially supply chain >> companies, I’m guessing they get burned by bankruptcies all the time. >> >> >> >> *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Dev >> *Sent:* Thursday, September 17, 2026 1:22 PM >> *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] RIP Cambium Networks? >> >> >> >> I’m sure the remaining employees at Cambium are also waiting for a >> resolution anxiously. I’ve always had good relations with them as >> individuals and they seem like solid folks. We should wish them well and >> assume they’re trying to help. >> >> >> >> The corporate dynamics very likely have hard constraints placed upon them >> by other parties that they have to sort though, which will take time. I’m >> sure that they want to retain maximum value through this (regardless of >> where things land), which involves engaging customers and others as soon as >> they possibly can. This will take time, like days and weeks, not hours. >> >> >> >> On 17 Sep 2026, at 8:30 AM, Ken Hohhof <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> >> >> There are other odd things as well. Like moving PMP production from >> Mexico to Thailand, not clear why, and it wasn’t handled well. Were they >> on credit hold with Flextronics? >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> >> -- >> AF mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >> > -- > AF mailing list > [email protected] > http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com > -- Zach Underwood (RHCE,RHCSA,RHCT,UACA) My website <http://zachunderwood.me> advance-networking.com
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