FreeWave’s Steve Wulchin Returns as CEO
On January 9, 2023, Steve Wulchin returned as CEO of FreeWave Technologies. Steve served as the company’s CEO from founding — as one of its co-founders —until 2014. An experienced business leader, Wulchin will succeed Kirk Byles and assume responsibilities immediately. Mr. Byles has left the company to pursue other opportunities. As the chairman, co-founder, and former CEO of FreeWave, Steve has been intimately involved since its inception three decades ago. Steve’s vision has always been to create a great company with great products and amazing people who are driven to provide superior solutions and service to our customers. “Steve’s leadership will propel FreeWave forward into the vision set for its IoT-enabled success and next phase of growth.” said Bob Dimicco, FreeWave board member. Wulchin holds an MBA from the University of Texas and a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia. His passion for both the wireless industry and FreeWave’s evolution as an intelligent edge solutions provider played a pivotal role in the company’s success to date. “FreeWave is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the cloud-enabled data opportunities available in the IoT space.” said Nazila Alasti, board member. “With Steve at the helm I’m excited to see what the team can do to bring that vision to fruition.”
FreeWave Joins Rural Cloud Initiative
BOULDER, COLO. (November 9, 2022) — FreeWave® Technologies, a leader in industrial wireless technology, today announced a partnership with Trilogy Networks to join its Rural Cloud Initiative (RCI), a unique coalition of over 70 network, technology and applications providers advancing the digital transformation of America’s rural areas. FreeWave joins RCI’s innovation partners in creating the technology and software solutions that will bring the power of cloud computing to local digital clients. Through these partnerships, rural communities will gain access to market-leading edge solutions delivered to them by trusted local partners, enhancing their business operations while improving local economies. RCI will support live networks with true edge compute platforms, where real end-to-end solutions can be delivered for specific use cases within rural industries, precision agriculture, automated food processing, efficient energy production, telemedicine and industrial automation. “We look forward to collaborating with Trilogy and RCI partners in bringing the digital revolution to rural markets,” said Kirk Byles, FreeWave CEO. “This opportunity is directly aligned with our long-standing mission of continuing to innovate for the sustainable future of our rural communities, leveraging our leading capabilities in edge computing and IoT cloud initiative. It is imperative that we figure out how to provide limitless connectivity with wireless, WiFi and affordable satellite solutions – the single-pane of glass visualizations of data and our data broker.” “Rural America, especially the agriculture industry is ripe to undergo a digital transformation, delivering enormous productivity and economic benefit”, said Nancy Shemwell, COO Trilogy Networks. “AgTech made simple – is the key – Trilogy’s FarmGrid™ is the answer. A digital agriculture platform, simplifying connectivity challenges, delivering, and supporting AgTech applications on a single platform allows the grower to see and utilize the data being gathered by a variety of IoT devices. FreeWave and their suite of applications put the power of the data in the grower’s hands – allowing him to augment his decision-making capabilities with truly actionable data.” About FreeWave Technologies: Based in Boulder, Colo., for nearly 30 years, FreeWave Technologies have connected the unconnected with a reliable ecosystem of edge intelligent radios and solutions – manufactured in the United States – to optimize the extreme edge of remote industrial operations. FreeWave has a legacy of solving thousands of customer challenges globally across multiple industries, FreeWave can help transform and future-proof an operation now. Visit freewave.com to get started. About Trilogy Trilogy is an established leader in the emerging Edge Compute ecosystem with the deployment of distributed Cloud installations across the United States. Trilogy recently founded the Rural Cloud Initiative, a coalition of network operators and technology providers committed to promoting and accelerating the digital transformation of rural America. In conjunction with network operators and edge innovation partners, Trilogy is utilizing its LinX™ virtual private network and ConEx service delivery platform to build a unified, distributed cloud capability on a single network fabric to cover 1.5 million square miles. To learn more, please visit www.ruralcloud.com or www.trilogynet.com.
Reinke And Freewave Technologies Announce Partnership To Optimize Collection Of Irrigation Data
(Deshler, Neb. – Oct. 26, 2022) – Reinke Manufacturing, a leader in precision irrigation equipment, and FreeWave® Technologies, a leader in industrial wireless connectivity, today announced a partnership to simplify data connectivity between irrigation systems and the cloud, making way for another best-in-class hardware line-up for Reinke’s ReinCloud-Ready® products. With years of agriculture experience between the two companies, Reinke and FreeWave will simplify how data is collected through FreeWave’s Fusion global wireless technology. This collaboration enables growers to access real-time event-based irrigation data over a robust radio network, giving them total control without worrying about connectivity gaps. FreeWave’s technology will deliver the data to Reinke’s ReinCloud® ag-data service. ReinCloud’s easy-to-use and customizable dashboard allows growers to organize data in a way that works for their operation. Data can be arranged by property, zone and equipment. ReinCloud will send notifications to a smart device based on insights from the field. Irrigation systems can be operated remotely from any place, at any time, while giving growers information on how operations are progressing. “Reinke is always looking for ways to improve how data is gathered for growers,” said Chris Roth, president of Reinke. “FreeWave is also committed to this process. The irrigation system can be operated remotely from any place, at any time, giving the growers freedom and time savings.” “Using technology can quickly change business models for the better. It’s great to see Reinke offering our data-connectivity solutions for growers. Together, we’re able to give them the ability to better focus on their fields and crops and have the data wherever they are, whenever they need it, to garner better yields,” said Kirk Byles, FreeWave CEO. “The ReinCloud Ready series of solutions is just the beginning of our partnership with Reinke.” About Reinke Manufacturing: With hundreds of dealers in more than 40 countries, Reinke Manufacturing is the world’s largest privately held manufacturer of center pivot and lateral move irrigation systems. Family-owned since 1954 and headquartered in Deshler, Neb., Reinke develops products and technology designed to increase agriculture production while providing labor savings and environmental efficiencies. Reinke is a continued leader in industry advancements as the first to incorporate GPS, satellite-based communications, and touchscreen panel capabilities into mechanized irrigation system management. Visit Reinke.com for more information on Reinke or to locate a dealership. About FreeWave Technologies: Based in Boulder, Colo., for nearly 30 years, FreeWave Technologies have connected the unconnected with a reliable ecosystem of edge intelligent radios and solutions – manufactured in the United States – to optimize the extreme edge of remote industrial operations. FreeWave has a legacy of solving thousands of customer challenges globally across multiple industries, FreeWave can help transform and future-proof an operation now. Visit freewave.com to get started.
FreeWave Technologies Welcomes Jeff Horton as Chief Revenue Officer
BOULDER, Colo. – April 25, 2022 – FreeWave Technologies, the leader in Industrial internet of things (IIoT) wireless connectivity and edge computing, today announced that it is adding a new Chief Revenue Officer, Jeff Horton. Mr. Horton is an accomplished, solutions-focused executive with a proven approach to revenue generation and will apply that experience now to support FreeWave in its innovation and growth trajectory. “Joining FreeWave at this critical juncture in its growth provides an exciting platform for me to engage decades of experience of evaluating industry trends to further revenue opportunities,” Horton stated. “The Industrial space has undergone such monumental change in its evolution and FreeWave is well-positioned to support its customers in embracing data-based decisions from the edge.” Recently, FreeWave introduced a series of solutions for remote monitoring and data analytics in its Fusion™ platform expanding the way to connect devices in even the most remote locations with its Fusion Satellite solution. This is the beginning of a new era of data-based edge computing tools available to industrial customers worldwide. “We’re eager to have Jeff join the team at such a great point in the journey. His customer-centric approach and broad market understanding will certainly add to the already strong team we have at FreeWave. I’m thrilled for things to come.” Said CEO, Kirk Byles. About FreeWave Technologies For 28 years, we’ve connected the unconnected with a reliable ecosystem of edge intelligent radios and solutions — manufactured in the U.S. — to optimize the extreme edge of remote industrial operations. We enable high-fidelity data capture, analysis, control, and automation via a scalable IIoT platform purpose built for the harshest, remote environments in the world. A joint venture with ModuSense makes global innovation agility and turn-key industrial IoT edge solutions a reality, accelerating our ability to bring fully integrated, plug and play IIoT solutions to the market quickly and cost-effectively. With deployments in 39 countries, and a legacy of solving thousands of customer challenges across multiple industries, we can help transform and future-proof your operation now. Visit freewave.com to get started.
Introducing Game-Changing Connectivity for Remote Operations
FreeWave’s new Fusion Bridge dual-radio gateway delivers seamless Wi-Fi connectivity to remote 900 MHz networks BOULDER (May 3rd, 2021) – Data is everywhere, but Wi-Fi is not. If remote operations lack on-site connectivity to gather and share real-time, business critical data, efficiency suffers. Today, Boulder-based FreeWave Technologies introduced a reliable way to connect remote assets and unlock siloed operational data: Fusion Bridge. The dual-radio bridge adds WiFi access point connectivity to remote 900 MHz networks. A plug and play option for existing ZumLink Networks, it makes it easy for enterprises to connect multiple devices and sensors in the field, access real-time data, drive new operational efficiencies and improve asset management. “Fusion Bridge solves a real problem for enterprises that have remote assets generating critical data in the field and requires staff to physically monitor or collect it directly,” said FreeWave CEO Kirk Byles. “Manual data collection is time-consuming, can introduce human error and is highly inefficient. But it also delays decision making, which not only adds costs, but also minimizes the ability for companies to proactively mitigate business risk. Fusion Bridge is another example of how we are working to help customers address real problems and add capability to existing network communications without substantial investments.” Fusion Bridge is over-the-air compatible with ZumLink networks and accommodates any WiFi device, including tablets, sensors, smartphones and security cameras. It offers an easy, browser-based configuration that is OEM-ready and features a fully customizable interface. If you are looking for a platform to deliver remote security intelligence applications including human or vehicle presence alerting, activity monitoring and remote access protection outside of network range, look no further than Fusion Bridge. To learn more about this remote WiFi bridge game-changer, as well as FreeWave’s comprehensive portfolio of edge computing solutions, contact your sales representative or visit www.freewave.com. About FreeWave Technologies With deployments in over 39 countries, FreeWave’s products are leveraged by industrial end users and OEMs alike to connect, control and optimize remote machines and processes to impact smarter decision-making, improve operational efficiencies and drive cost savings. Throughout our 27-year history, Freewave’s IIoT Connectivity and EDGE Solutions have solved thousands of customers’ problems in government/defense, energy, agriculture, and municipalities – achieve reliable connectivity for data telemetry and command and control in some of the most challenging, remote and rugged environments in the world. Today, we are transforming the extreme edge of operations – and the proliferation of smart devices within it – into a connected part of the enterprise with our IQ edge computing platform and ecosystem of solutions evolved for IIoT. Are you ready to transform your operation? Visit freewave.com to get started. # # # Media Contacts: Lisa DiBenedetto Corporate Communications lisa@ldbcomm.biz 630-338-2208 Renea Sloan Director, Channel Marketing rsloan@freewave.com
FreeWave Technologies Delivers New Edge Data Software Platform
The solution you need for real-time data processing and storage capability at the network edge BOULDER (March 4, 2021) – Today FreeWave Technologies, a leader in industrial edge computing and long-range industrial wireless connectivity, now offers seamless industrial data collection with the introduction of FreeWave Edge. The new software platform performs real-time processing of industrial protocols and sensor data providing edge data storage, processing and cloud compatibility alongside existing enterprise systems. The benefit? Faster, high-resolution data even under challenging connectivity scenarios with added store and forward capabilities. FreeWave Edge marks the first software introduction from is acquisition of CPU LLC, a decades old engineering focused software analytics company that produced multiple software suites in the industrial market. For existing FreeWave customers the addition of FreeWave Edge means greater access to network operations, while adding bandwidth and processing capacity. The platform also drastically reduces the need for additional capital investments. CPU has helped accelerate FreeWave’s momentum into SCADA and digital applications in the cloud. “FreeWave Edge is a direct reflection of our commitment to build a robust and fully-integrated suite of edge computing solutions for industrial customers and system integrators looking to increase network and operation efficiencies and configure data processing at the edge,” said FreeWave’s CEO Kirk Byles. “What all this means is, we listened to our customers who recognize the hodgepodge of hardware and software is hindering their growth, and we created a solution to fill that void. Too many times we’ve heard about how differing protocols can’t work together or hardware isn’t compatible, or…..it doesn’t’ matter. FreeWave is here to provide a bridge between hardware and software in the industrial world. This is our mission and passion.” FreeWave Edge makes it simple to configure custom system alerts and data processing specific to the needs of industrial operations, connecting them to preferred reporting systems, email or the Cloud. Lost connectivity can often mean lost data. Free Wave Edge addresses that with its Store & Forward feature at the edge, ensuring no critical data analytics get left behind. A straightforward web interface allows users to set up data inputs and connect to industrial controllers and devices with standard protocols or sensors via analog and digital IO. The platform also delivers the ability to publish data to a wide variety of enterprise tools via configurable MQTT. To learn more about FreeWave Edge capabilities and specifications, as well as FreeWave’s comprehensive portfolio of edge computing solutions, contact your sales representative or visit www.freewave.com. About FreeWave Technologies With deployments in over 39 countries, FreeWave’s products are leveraged by industrial end users and OEMs alike to connect, control and optimize remote machines and processes to impact smarter decision-making, improve operational efficiencies and drive cost savings. Throughout our 27-year history, FreeWave’s IIoT Connectivity and EDGE Solutions have solved thousands of customers’ problems in government/defense, energy, agriculture, and municipalities – achieve reliable connectivity for data telemetry and command and control in some of the most challenging, remote and rugged environments in the world. Today, we are transforming the extreme edge of operations – and the proliferation of smart devices within it – into a connected part of the enterprise with our IQ edge computing platform and ecosystem of solutions evolved for IIoT. Are you ready to transform your operation? Visit freewave.com to get started. # # # Media Contacts: Lisa DiBenedetto Corporate Communications lisa@ldbcomm.biz 630-338-2208 Renea Sloan Marketing Director rsloan@freewave.com
FreeWave Technologies Expands Integration Partnership in India
New Partnership Penned with Cotmac Electronics Pvt Ltd BOULDER (June 10, 2020) – Today, FreeWave Technologies, a leader in long-range industrial wireless connectivity and wired edge computing platforms announced it will expand the distribution of its industrial automation and edge computing solutions to India with new authorized integration partner Cotmac Electronics. As part of the Cotmac Group, established in 1896 as a cotton and machinery trading company, Cotmac Electronics is a respected name in industrial automation. Since its inception in 1992, Cotmac Electronics has grown to employ over 600 skilled and qualified engineers, it has 5 state-of-the-art manufacturing plants and 13 branch offices in India. The company provides innovative solutions for various factory and process automation applications in industries such as automotive, pharmaceuticals, energy, material handling, Oil and gas, as well as water/wastewater. Cotmac Electronics is the first choice in world class industrial automation solutions. “Freewave’s partnership with Cotmac in India is a powerful combination. I am confident that Freewave’s industry leading connectivity and EDGE compute platforms combined with Cotmac’s experience, people and channel reach, will ensure that together, working as one team, we will deliver the full potential of optimized IIoT solutions to verticals and clients across India” said Mike Tate, SVP Global Sales & Marketing, Freewave Technologies. General Manager for Cotmac Electronics, Nitin Apsangi said “The collaboration of FreeWave and Cotmac Electronics will deliver a powerful combination of strengths in the industrial automation space with transformative solutions to help customers achieve the full benefits of IIOT.” “With demand for Industry 4.0 solutions growing, our partnership with FreeWave uniquely positions us to deliver comprehensive solutions for manufacturing, plant automation, process control, and energy monitoring, from the edge to the core to the cloud,” For more information on FreeWave Technologies’ and its Intelligent Edge solutions, visit www.freewave.com. For more information on Cotmac Electronics and its integration capabilities, visit www.cotmac.io About FreeWave Technologies With deployments in over 32 countries, FreeWave’s products are leveraged by industrial end users and OEMs alike to connect, control and optimize remote machines and processes to impact smarter decision-making, improve operational efficiencies and drive cost savings. Throughout our 26-year history, we’ve helped thousands of customers – government/defense, energy, agriculture, and municipalities – achieve reliable connectivity for data telemetry and command and control in some of the most challenging, remote and rugged environments in the world. Today, we are transforming the extreme edge of operations – and the proliferation of smart devices within it – into a connected part of the enterprise with our IQ edge computing platform and ecosystem of solutions evolved for IIoT. Are you ready to transform your operation? Visit freewave.com to get started. # # # Media Contacts: Renea Sloan Marketing Director rsloan@freewave.com
FreeWave Technologies Introduces ZumEdge™
FreeWave’s Edge Intelligence portfolio allows instant data access and decision-making from the harshest edge environments to Cloud, analytics platforms in an easy-to-use integrated package BOULDER (May 19, 2020) – Today FreeWave Technologies, a leader in industrial edge computing and long-range industrial wireless connectivity, introduced ZumEdge™, the next generation of its Edge Intelligence platform. ZumEdge delivers an integrated I/O edge computing and narrow band radio network platform that makes it easy to connect analog and digital I/O devices directly to IIoT networks. The platform allows enterprise customers across numerous industry verticals to access and monitor critical data in the field and act on it immediately. “ZumEdge is ideal for any industry that requires sensor data capture, edge computing and long-range networking in isolated and potentially hazardous environments in a single, integrated package,” said FreeWave’s Chief Technology Officer, Parthesh Shastri. “The ability to simplify, capture and process a high volume of data at the industrial edge empowers our customers and partners to lower costs and time to market for new solutions.” With limited networking and data acquisition capabilities, critical sensor data is often stranded in the field, creating both inefficiencies and adding costs. ZumEdge with an I/O module reduces complexity, providing enterprises the data they need in minutes, not hours. Its web-based integrated I/O and network configuration tool supports the remote configuration of up to 15 IOEX modules (up to 180 individual I/Os). ZumEdge comes standard with the FreeWave IQ application environment and contains the Z9 radio module, making it over-the-air compatible with existing ZumLink networks and is housed in a DIN-Rail-Mountable case. To learn more about ZumEdge capabilities and specifications, as well as FreeWave’s comprehensive portfolio of edge computing solutions, contact your sales representative or visit www.freewave.com. About FreeWave Technologies With deployments in over 32 countries, FreeWave’s products are leveraged by industrial end users and OEMs alike to connect, control and optimize remote machines and processes to impact smarter decision-making, improve operational efficiencies and drive cost savings. Throughout our 26-year history, Freewave’s IIoT Connectivity and EDGE Solutions have solved thousands of customers’ problems in government/defense, energy, agriculture, and municipalities – achieve reliable connectivity for data telemetry and command and control in some of the most challenging, remote and rugged environments in the world. Today, we are transforming the extreme edge of operations – and the proliferation of smart devices within it – into a connected part of the enterprise with our IQ edge computing platform and ecosystem of solutions evolved for IIoT. Are you ready to transform your operation? Visit freewave.com to get started. Media Contacts: Lisa DiBenedetto Corporate Communications lisa@ldbcomm.biz 630-338-2208 Renea Sloan Director, Channel Marketing rsloan@freewave.com
COVID-19: A Letter to Our Customers and Partners
A Letter to Our Customers and Partners: In these challenging times, we wanted to take a moment to update you on how we’re responding to the COVID-19 virus. Our hearts are with everyone who has been impacted by this virus across our global community. In the midst of a pandemic, we are reminded of how quickly things can change and that we should take nothing for granted. With that in mind, health and safety remain our top priority. We’ve mandated all non-production employees who can work from home to do so, and have arranged for those essential production employees to observe social distancing at work to further eliminate risk. We are sanitizing our factory daily by wiping down all surfaces with anti-bacterial disinfectant. Any employee that displays or feels any illness symptoms are not allowed in the factory for a minimum of two weeks. Much like you, we’re continuously monitoring the evolution of this situation as we balance employee safety with business continuity. While these are clearly unusual circumstances, we’re committed to you our customers by trying to maintain, as much as possible, business as usual. We are assessing our supply chain daily for any signs of constraints, and at this time we are well positioned and don’t expect any changes in lead times. As things continue to evolve, we’ll continue to communicate with you. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your FreeWave Sales Representative. Best, FreeWave Technologies
Business Continuity and COVID-19
COVID-19 is forcing a change to the way we do business and globally confining employees to their homes, forcing the cancellation of public events and schools. FreeWave remains committed to our employees and customers as it has for the last 26 years and is here to continue supporting you during this challenging time. FreeWave’s solutions keep your workforce safely connected by allowing you to gather insights and analytics from the field, and transmit the data to any device, from anywhere, and at any time, without putting your employees in harm’s way. The health and wellbeing of FreeWave partners and customers is our number one priority. Which is why we offer solutions for remote and ruggedized environments that reduce costs and keep people free from harm: Contact Your FreeWave Account Manager today to learn how we can optimize and digitize your network, keeping your business on track.