Telefonica Makes Strategic Investment in Quantenna

Telefonica (News - Alert) has entered into a strategic partnership with Quantenna Communications, a major player in ultra-reliable Wi-Fi networking for whole home entertainment.

The partnership sees Telefonica making a strategic equity investment in Quantenna which gives it access to the latest Quantenna technology for the deployment of high performance video services to the home.

The investment in Quantenna has been led by Telefonica Ventures, a division of Telefonica Digital, with offices in Silicon Valley, London, Madrid and Israel.

"Investing in up-and-coming technology companies is a core part of the Telefonica Digital strategy as we look to build our capabilities in order to succeed in the digital space," said Matthew Key, chairman and CEO, Telefonica Digital, in a statement.

Key said that Quantenna's technology will be a core component of the company’s growth strategy for IPTV (News - Alert) deployments in Europe and Latin America.

Telefonica Digital is a global business division of Telefonica. Its mission is to seize the opportunities within the digital world and deliver new growth for Telefonica through research and development, venture capital, global partnerships and digital services such as cloud computing, mobile advertising, M2M and eHealth.  

Enrique Blanco, chief technology officer at Telefonica said that Quantenna is a highly innovative company that has identified the looming capability gap between fixed and wireless networks and developed the solution to bridge it.

Blanco said that access to their technology will enable Telefonica to continue to meet the future home networking needs of the customers across the company’s operating businesses.

"This strategic partnership and funding will enable us to expand our product offering for carrier-grade wireless IPTV services globally, as we continue to strengthen our industry-leading, 4x4 MIMO technology leadership position," said Sam Heidari, chief executive officer for Quantenna.

Back in October, Quantenna Communications and Sagemcom, a major player in broadband terminals, convergence, and energy solutions, had announced a collaborative agreement to integrate Quantenna's Wi-Fi technology in Sagemcom video bridges and other Wi-Fi products, accelerating time-to-market for advanced wireless video and TV services.