SignalSet raises $6M to disrupt wireless tech

Patent-pending Remote Carrier Switching technology allows mobile users to switch between CDMA, GSM

If this isn’t disruptive as hell, then I don’t know what is.

SignalSet, a startup based in Seattle, Wash., is working on technology that will allow mobile devices to switch from one carrier’s network to another in real-time. That means never having to worry about GSM or CDMA compatibility again. (For the uninitiated, AT&T uses GSM for its network and Verizon uses CDMA, which was the main reason Apple had to redevelop the iPhone before taking it over to Verizon’s network.)

This is no joke either, proven by the fact that SignalSet just announced this week that it has secured $6 million in Series A funding led by Vanedge Capital and joined by Point B Capital.  SignalSet’s seed investors, Globespan Capital Partners and Razorback Capital, also participated in the round.

The new round will go towards continued product development, preparation for product launch and marketing initiatives.

It’s clear why this technology like this is so sorely needed. Simply consider all the times your friend has had service when you didn’t, and vice versa. If only you could combine the strength of both networks, reliability of each would be vastly improved.

In the next few weeks, SignalSet will announce the company’s first commercial launch of a telematics system with an OEM partner in the trucking market. It will mark the first use of the company’s patent-pending Remote Carrier Switching technology.

To be perfectly honest, I’m baffled by how SignalSet has managed to get carriers on board with this technology, despite how impressive it is. The startup says it has business and operational agreements with both GSM and CDMA wireless carriers in the US (T-Mobile and Sprint) and is finalizing similar agreements with carriers in Canada and other international markets.

Realizing that a lot of people wouldn’t understand how the carriers, each of which has invested millions and millions of dollars on endless advertising campaigns touting their network as the fastest and most secure, could get on board with this, SignalSet tries to explain why:

Machine-to-machine device manufacturers and OEMs don’t want to make a mistake in choosing a carrier, which up to this point has meant for the entire life of the product. With SignalSet, carriers and customers win as carrier risk is mitigated through each device’s continuous access to multiple networks, allowing faster decisions and hence, deployment.

That’s the end portion of the full answer, available near the bottom of this page. Believe it or not. This is one startup we'll be watching closely.