Unium

About Unium

Originally established as CoCo Communications Corp. in 2002, the Seattle-based company rebranded to Unium before its eventual acquisition by Nokia, which was finalized in March 2018. From its inception, the firm concentrated on developing tactical communication solutions, initially catering to public sector agencies like the U.S. Department of Defense, including the Navy, Air Force, and Special Operations Command. This early work focused on addressing complex challenges in networking and radio interoperability in mobile and infrastructure-less environments.

The company's core offering evolved into a sophisticated software-defined networking (SDN) platform for wireless networks. This technology was designed to create intelligent mesh Wi-Fi systems for both residential and mission-critical applications. Unium's software functions by blanketing an area with a strong, consistent signal, thereby eliminating dead spots and preventing the bottlenecks that occur when multiple devices connect simultaneously. A key feature of the system is its ability to measure wireless performance in real-time, dynamically adjusting the network to optimize coverage and capacity for each connected device, such as phones and tablets. This capability ensures a tailored and high-quality connection by learning the specific performance of each device.

The business model centered on licensing its software, which could be embedded into any Wi-Fi-enabled device, including routers, laptops, and smart home appliances. The software was offered to clients either by feature or as a comprehensive package. Prior to its acquisition, Unium had successfully attracted notable customers like Google Fiber and had raised $26.7 million in funding. The acquisition by Nokia was a strategic move to integrate Unium's carrier-grade mesh technology into Nokia's whole-home Wi-Fi portfolio. Following the acquisition, Unium and its team became part of Nokia's Fixed Networks business group, with their software being embedded into Nokia's Wi-Fi products to provide a plug-and-play, self-optimizing residential Wi-Fi solution for communication service providers.