Ericsson today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares in the privately-held Canadian Wi-Fi company BelAir Networks, as part of its plan to boost its mobile broadband offering. Through this transaction, Ericsson will acquire a strong carrier grade Wi-Fi portfolio, technological expertise, IPR, and established customer contracts and relationships. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The demand for Wi-Fi technology in mobile networks will continue to grow over the coming years. This is brought on by the growth of mobile broadband as well as the increase in cloud-based services and other high data-consuming functions and features. To meet this growing demand, Ericsson launched its Network Integrated Wi-Fi solution in September 2011.

"Ericsson is now taking the next step towards a truly integrated network. The combination of Ericsson's mobile infrastructure technology and BelAir Networks' position in carrier grade Wi-Fi equipment will accelerate the integration of Wi-Fi and cellular technologies. The acquisition of BelAir Networks will be part of Ericsson's heterogeneous network (hetnet) strategy to improve the mobile broadband experience by managing the co-existence of mobile technologies and Wi-Fi," Ericsson said in a statement.

The BelAir Networks' indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi systems enable service providers to build scalable, high performance Wi-Fi networks. The company develops mobile networking solutions that are deployed by service providers including AT&T and Comcast.

Established in 2002, BelAir Networks is based in Ottawa, Ontario and has approximately 120 employees. BelAir Networks' employees will join Ericsson's global organization.

The acquisition is expected to close during the first half of 2012, subject to customary closing conditions.