When entering the market 10 years ago, Irish company Taoglas, which specializes in antenna design and optimization, decided to focus on M2M applications for a number of vertical markets. The decision paid off, and the company is now a market leader with a global presence and three world-class design centers.
The decision was a unique one a decade ago, but ultimately paid off for Taoglas, according to Tim Dolan, director of North American Sales. Dolan sat down with TMC CEO Rich Tehrani at the recent IoTevolutionworld Editors Day Boston 2014 to discuss how Taoglas has carved out a niche for itself in the antenna realm.
“When they got into this 10 years ago, most of the antenna companies were concentrating on cell phones or laptops,” said Dolan. While competitors opted to chase after big volume applications, Taoglas moved in a different direction, focusing on high-quality antennas for M2M applications used in the transportation, medical, industrial and metering markets.
Not only is Taoglas committed to offering specialized products that have been tested in their OTA code test chambers, they also test customers’ products in tandem with their antennas to ensure customers will be able to access specific networks.
“The carriers have criteria to get onto their networks,” said Dolan. “You can’t just throw an antenna in and get onto AT&T’s network.” And that can be frustrating for device manufacturers, causing them to have to do several rounds of development and configuration to get their boards to meet network operator access criteria. Taoglas ensures they will only have to go through this process once, saving customers time and money.
The company also put its money on 4G and currently has the largest LTE antenna line in the industry. Offerings include embedded circuit board antennas as well as mountable varieties that may be used on tractor-trailers or in subway systems.
In fact, Taoglas launched its Genesis product last month to solve a common connectivity problem within the transportation market. Antennas are typically mounted to the roofs of tractor-trailers, requiring long cables to connect them to modems inside the cabs. Not only does this process typically involve a drawn-out and complicated installation, but the lengthy cable run can affect data performance. The Genesis offering features an adhesive-mount antenna that may be stuck to a window or the dashboard inside a cab, cutting down on cabling and installation time and costs.
Taoglas also announced last month that it had upgraded its San Diego OTA code test chamber to 4G, involving a $1 million investment in equipment and calibration technology.
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Edited by
Maurice Nagle