Nomadix

History

Nomadix was founded in 1998 by UCLA Computer Science Professor Dr. Leonard Kleinrock, one of the founders of ARPANET, and a graduate student, Joel Short. The name Nomadix came from Kleinrock's studies of nomadic computing, which he described in a 2015 Barron's interview, "nomadic computing...refers to the capability that wherever I go, I should be able to connect seamlessly, and gain as much functionality and services as I was able to gain in my office, my home, my laboratory." Kleinrock served as the company's first CEO and Chairman, and Short served as Chief Technology Officer.

The company's first product, the Nomadix Universal Subscriber Gateway, shipped in September 1999. The gateway was designed to allow visiting computers to connect to the Internet, without needing extra equipment or software on the computer. Built-in payment gateway features managed optional billing and payment functions.

In February 2002, Nomadix announced a technology licensing deal for their Nomadix Service Engine (NSE) software with Agere Systems, now part of Avago Technologies, and at the time the second largest Wi-Fi vendor behind Cisco Systems.

In March 2002, the company announced a customized version of their Universal Subscriber Gateway (USG), designed in a partnership with wireless networking company Boingo Wireless, to allow businesses to set up commercial Wi-Fi hot spots.

In January 2004, the company was awarded the industry's first patent for redirecting a customer's computer to a sign-in page, also known as a "gateway" page.

In July 2004, Nomadix was sued by Carlsbad, CA-based IP3 Networks, a wireless networking competitor, for trade libel, for allegedly telling customers that IP3 was stealing their technology. In February 2006, the case was dismissed.

In December 2006, Nomadix was acquired by Singapore-based MagiNet, a provider of wireless hospitality solutions in the Asia pacific region. The company was to continue operating under the Nomadix name.

In March 2007, Nomadix sued competitor Second Rule, which by then had acquired IP3's NetAccess gateway, for infringing on five of Nomadix's patents.

In December 2007, it was announced that MagiNet was acquired by DOCOMO interTouch Pte. Ltd, a subsidiary of Japan's NTT DOCOMO, for $150M.

In March 2009, a judge awarded Nomadix a $3.2M judgment in the Second Rule case, and granted a permanent injunction.

In November 2009, the company filed patent infringement lawsuits against eight companies, including Hewlett Packard, Wayport, Inc., iBAHN, LodgeNet and Aruba Networks, seeking damages and injunctions over the use of eight of its patents.

In June 2012, Nomadix launched the AG 5800 access gateway, designed for large venues.

In November 2012, Hewlett Packard became the third and largest of the eight defendants in the 2009 patent lawsuit to settle, agreeing to pay licensing fees to continue to use Nomadix' patented technology. In March 2013, AT&T, now owner of Wayport and Superclick, another defendant, settled and agreed to pay licensing fees. In September 2013, Aruba Networks also settled and also agreed to pay licensing fees.

In July 2013, Nomadix introduced the AG 2400, an Internet access gateway designed to support up to 200 simultaneous end users.

In October 2014, Nomadix sued Norcross, Georgia-based Blueprint RF for patent infringement of its captive portal technology, based on U.S. Patent No. 8,156,246.

In July 2015, Nomadix released the AG 5900 access gateway, which supported up to 8,000 simultaneous end users.

In February 2016, the US District Court upheld Nomadix' patent claim against Blueprint RF.

In March 2016, Nomadix announced an exclusive partnership to offer technology from WAN optimization vendor Exinda to the hospitality industry. The announcement included news of the first Nomadix products to come from the partnership, the Alloc8-X ("allocate-X") deep packet inspection (DPI) series, network monitoring devices for administrators of public networks.

Products

The company’s main products are wireless network access gateways, the Nomadix Service Engine (NSE) software that runs the hardware, and network traffic optimizers.

Access gateways

Nomadix produces two access gateways which extend wired or wireless networks for public Internet access: the AG 2400 and the AG 5900. The AG 5900 is designed for larger venues and supports up to 8,000 devices at a time. The company also offers Load Balancing Module software, which manages network traffic across multiple connections.

Nomadix Service Engine

NSE software runs the Nomadix access gateways. The current version of the software as of April 2016 is 8.6. The software manages quality of service (QoS), with support for Layer 3 services, determining the best type of service to deliver based on the user's application. The software also allows for user authentication using multiple XML servers.

Traffic optimizers

The Nomadix Internet Traffic Optimizer (NITO) is hardware which allows operators of visitor networks such as hotspots or guest access networks to more effectively manage their bandwidth. Content filtering through deep packet inspection (DPI) is utilized to manage high bandwidth requirements.

The Alloc8-X series of DPI devices provides network traffic monitoring and analytics features for administrators managing bandwidth consumption and traffic patterns on public networks. The devices provide bandwidth usage statistics by location, user, device and application. Four different models offer a range of bandwidth options based on the bandwidth needs of the facility.

Patents

Nomadix holds 76 US patents, and dozens of patents worldwide.

Customers

Nomadix sells through distributors to hospitality businesses with guest and visitor networks, such as the SLS hotel in Beverly Hills, businesses operating guest Wi-Fi networks, such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, event management companies hosting large crowds, such as the 2014 World Cup, apartment complexes and public spaces.