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SmartLink Appoints Wireless and Cellular Industry Leader Tom Berger to President & CEOBILLERICA, Mass. --(Business Wire)-- May 26, 2005 -- SmartLink Radio Networks Inc., a supplier of land mobile radio networking and interoperability solutions, today announced that board member Tom Berger has been appointed to the role of president and CEO. Berger has worked with SmartLink as a consultant since 2004 and joined the board of directors earlier this year. He will now lead SmartLink as it moves from institutional investment and market development to operational and infrastructure growth. "Since he first began working with us last year, Tom Berger has made tremendous contributions to SmartLink's strategic focus and interoperability product direction," said SmartLink chairman and company founder Mark Hatten. "You cannot overstate the value that his vast industry knowledge brings to SmartLink. As we enter the execution and operational phase of our growth, Tom's experience running wireless voice, data and cellular companies for the last 30 plus years is a perfect fit." Berger was a founder of ARDIS, which is now Motient, the first and largest national two-way wireless data network. He also spent 17 years managing engineering, marketing and sales organizations within Motorola's Communications Sector, and he led several start-ups in addition to ARDIS, including Celcore, Octave and Taqua. For the past five years, Berger has also been an operating partner with Bessemer Venture Partners, where he was involved with a number of their portfolio companies and evaluated investment opportunities in the telecommunications market. Hatten continued, "Tom will evolve SmartLink from the market direction and business development phase that Tom Lambalot so ably guided us through. We wish Tom Lambalot well as he pursues other opportunities - his market development work helped establish an important presence for SmartLink in the public safety and critical infrastructure markets. Now, we are ready to enter the execution and growth stages of our long term plan." SmartLink originated the concept of network-based interoperability, communicating across disparate frequencies and protocols, working with industrial wireless users in the 1990s. Over the last 18 months, SmartLink has evolved its focus to meet the demand for interoperability in public safety and critical infrastructure. More than $6.7 billion in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding has been allocated for use by state and local public safety agencies in the United States. SmartLink is now expanding its interoperability network and the infrastructure required to support the public safety marketplace. "Interoperability is not about adding a feature to a radio system, or swapping out entire deployments of radios and equipment," said Berger. "Our job is to give first responders a solution that makes interoperability an inherent function of their communications network. SmartLink brings together a wide range of communication resources that are in place today and planned for tomorrow. We are building the components and systems required to make true interoperability a reality at an affordable cost, while minimizing the impact on people, processes and infrastructure." About SmartLink Radio Networks Inc. SmartLink has created an interoperable radio network for public safety/service and critical infrastructure. SmartLink's software-defined network breaks down the barriers created by different radio frequencies and protocols, seamlessly integrating with legacy equipment. The result is a cost-effective and flexible networked radio environment that delivers interoperability, while allowing customers to easily adapt and expand to future technologies. For more information, contact us or visit www.smartlink.net. |
