CHANDLER, Ariz., Mar. 13, 2000 - Motorola and Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced the appointment of Myron Wagner to president and general manager of SpectraPoint Wireless LLC, a jointly-owned subsidiary located in Richardson, TX, that provides Local Multipoint Distribution Services (LMDS) products and systems. Ed Cantwell, who led SpectraPoint and it's predecessor organizations since 1995, will become director of strategic marketing at Motorola's Fixed Wireless Systems Group (FWSG) located in Chandler, Ariz.
"SpectraPoint has deployed a series of trial systems with leading LMDS operators and will begin broader rollouts later this year. To maintain its leadership, SpectraPoint must increase its focus on scale and volume production," said Rickie Currens, corporate vice president and general manager of Motorola's FWSG, and chairman of SpectraPoint's board of directors. "At the same time, Motorola wants to continue to expand its fixed wireless focus. Wagner has led several of Motorola's large engineering development projects and has managed significant engineering organizations. That expertise coupled with Wagner's operational capabilities is the combination needed at this point to carry through on the SpectraPoint vision and to sustain a market leadership position. Cantwell played a leading role in the development of the entire LMDS market, and is uniquely positioned to help Motorola take a wider focus in broadband wireless."
"Ed Cantwell was instrumental in SpectraPoint's development and in establishing key relationships with early customers such as Highspeed.com and AAPT," said Steve Steinhilber, a SpectraPoint board member and vice president of strategic alliances at Cisco. "In this new role as director of strategic marketing for Motorola's Fixed Wireless Systems Group, Cantwell's broad knowledge of the industry and technology can be used to enable SpectraPoint, Motorola and Cisco to address a wider range of opportunities across the fixed wireless market."
Wagner joined Motorola in 1977 as an electrical engineer. Over the years, he managed several development and product organizations, which culminated in his position as director of engineering for the Government Electronics Division. In 1996, he became vice president and director of Engineering of the Advanced Systems Division, and later took the helm of the Satellite Networks Division. Wagner received his BSEE magna cum laude in 1976 at the University of Utah, and his MSEE in 1977 at Stanford University.
Prior to his appointment as head of SpectraPoint, Cantwell was the business director of Texas Instruments' MulTIpoint Business Unit with overall responsibility for development and deployment of TI's LMDS products and services. He also served as program director and strategy manager for TI's Advanced Programs Division, overseeing the development of advanced RF systems and products. Cantwell graduated from Duke University with a Bachelors of Science degree in mechanical engineering, and in 1995, attended the Executive Program at the University of Michigan Business School. He is a former U.S. Air Force F-15 fighter pilot.
