WIRELESS FIRMS ENJOY SUMMER FUN-DING

While some of us were taking time off this summer, financiers of wireless companies have been partying like it's 1999.

A multiple industry survey by Venture One and Ernst & Young recently showed that $4 billion in venture capital was invested nationally during the second quarter this year. Though it's hard to pinpoint exactly how much of that $4 billion went to wireless companies, InPhonic, a wireless private-label service distribution firm, accounted for the largest funding deal of the quarter, a $56 million infusion from Technology Crossover Ventures.

Other wireless firms receiving funding saw much smaller deals, but it may reflect a more pragmatic industrywide view about how to manage funding dollars.

“Do we need more money?” said Richard Schwartz, president and CEO of SoloMio, which received $6.5 million in funding to back its development of an enterprise call management platform. “If we go get more, it will only be to accelerate expansion into a new geography or channel.”

Elsewhere, Fidelity Ventures partner Anne Mitchell cited the “smart fiscal approach of the management team” at Airespace as one of the reasons Fidelity invested $22 million in the enterprise wireless LAN management company this summer.

Aside from the influx of venture capital, two Wi-Fi technology firms, Netgear and iPass, held their IPOs in late July. Both companies raised their open price ranges the day before their IPOs, due to heavy interest among buyers.

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