Wireless video outfit to make a Ruckus

By Byron Connolly

Oct 20 2006 3:35PM

After a short sabbatical, former Allied Telesyn boss Mark Jackson has opened an Australian operation for US-based Ruckus Wireless, a company that manufactures hardware for streaming multimedia content throughout the home.

After a short sabbatical, former Allied Telesyn boss Mark Jackson has opened an Australian operation for US-based Ruckus Wireless, a company that manufactures hardware for streaming multimedia content throughout the home.

Jackson - who parted ways with Allied last September – was in discussions with two local distributors to stock Ruckus’ products.

The company’s MediaFlex Router hardware is used to transport multimedia content such as video over a standard 802.11 Wi-Fi connection.

It also markets the MediaFlex Adapter, a Wi-Fi receiver that uses technology dubbed “BeamFlex” a MIMO-G antenna system that lets devices communicate over longer distances at higher speeds than consumer-grade 802.11 products.

Its “SmartCast” technology distinguishes multicast video frames form other traffic types, providing a solid transport for IPTV streams from the gateway to a set-top box, the company said.

Speaking to CRN, Jackson said Ruckus was in a “field of our own” as it looks to take advantage of the burgeoning home automation and IPTV sector. “Being able to transmit video, we are the only ones that can do it effectively,” he said.

Ruckus was founded in the US in 2004 by Selina Lo, the founder of Alteon (now owned by Nortel), Fore Systems founder Bill Kish and IOSPAN’s Victor Shtrom.