L M Ericsson Telefon AB has acquired Leicester, UK based Camtec Electronics Ltd from Hunting Group Plc to provide a local area network dimension to its Business Network strategy. Camtec is an X25 product manufacturer and has been brought in to connect Ericsson’s wide area X25 Eripax network to Ethernet local area networks. Camtec has a turnover of around UKP4m and has been part of Hunting since 1988. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to Ericsson, the acquisition puts it in third place in the UK X25 networking market. Camtec produces X25 Eripax access products, including low-end packet switches, gateways and packet assembler/disassemblers. The four products taken on board by Ericsson are the X25/Etherpad, which interfaces Ethernet-compatible workstations and hosts with an Eripax network, the X25/Ethergate, connecting the two networks, the X25/Etherpad to connect terminals and printers to Eripax and the CSP 4300/4350, a packet switch fitting below the Eripax PS10 and offering up to 18 X25 ports running at 64Kbits. Although the company will retain control over product developments, Camtec’s range will be marketed with the Eripax X25 wide area network products, and as part of the overall Ericsson Business Network, formally launched yesterday. Although a new division has been formed, the Ericsson Business Network has been in operation for some time and essentially consists of pulling together Ericsson’s voice and data networking products into one package. The Business Network consists of the Eripax wide area network, Camtec’s access products, the IDNX Transmission Resource Manager, a voice and data bandwidth manager, the NM400 network management system and the MD110 private branch exchange, the digital version of which Ericsson also revealed yesterday. The MD110 ISPBX provides connection to British Telecom’s and to international ISDN networks.
