CommScope rebrands as Vistance Networks following CCS sale to Amphenol
Key Highlights
- CommScope sold its CCS segment to Amphenol for $10.5 billion, focusing on broadband and Wi-Fi markets under the Vistance Networks brand.
- The sale helps CommScope reduce debt, redeem preferred equity, and generate excess cash for strategic investments and growth initiatives.
- The company is rebranding its Access Networks Solutions as Aurora Networks and continues to develop DOCSIS 4.0 and fiber-to-the-home solutions.
- Amphenol’s acquisition boosts its capabilities in fiber interconnects for AI and data center applications, diversifying its product portfolio.
- CommScope’s restructuring includes divesting underperforming units like OWN and DAS, aligning resources with high-growth opportunities in 5G and fiber networks.
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CommScope has closed the sale of its Connectivity and Cable Solutions (CCS) segment to Amphenol, adopting the new Vistance Networks brand, with a focus on broadband access and Wi-Fi.
Amphenol reached a deal in August to acquire CommScope’s Connectivity and Cable Solutions (CCS) business for $10.5 billion in cash, sharpening its focus on burgeoning data center opportunities driven by AI.
By making this deal, Amphenol will not only add fiber interconnect products for artificial intelligence and other data center applications, but also further diversify Amphenol’s broad portfolio of fiber and other interconnect product solutions for communications networks and industrial markets.
Beyond establishing a new identity, the sale is about CommScope raising capital to repay all outstanding debt and redeem all preferred equity held by the global investment firm Carlyle.
After adding modest leverage to the remaining business, CommScope said it “will have significant excess cash.”
Sharpening its focus
The Access Networks Solutions segment will be rebranded as Aurora Networks, while RUCKUS Networks will retain its name.
Aurora Networks will continue to focus on providing broadband access network solutions to cable operators and telcos.
During the third quarter, Aurora Networks saw benefits from Comcast’s full-duplex (FDX) deployment, signaling that DOCSIS deployments are on the upswing.
In September, Comcast announced that CommScope’s ANS Full Duplex (FDX) DOCSIS® amplifier was serving customers in Comcast’s network. ANS net sales were $338 million, up 77% year-over-year, and adjusted EBITDA was up 169%.
This year, CommScope plans to introduce amplifiers and remote PHY devices that deliver DOCSIS 4.0 unified operation, supporting both the 1.8 GHz extended-spectrum DOCSIS and FDX networks with a single device.
CommScope is also making headway in fiber-to-the-home (FTTH). Chuck Treadway, CEO of Vistance Networks, said it “found traction with our newly released PON portfolio at a major North American service provider, which will deliver multi-gigabit bandwidth and scalable options for growth.”
The RUCKUS® Networks segment, which will continue to offer Wi-Fi, switching, and cloud-managed platforms, also delivered a strong third-quarter performance driven by demand for its Wi-Fi 7 products and subscription services, as well as its go-to-market initiatives.
RUCKUS’ revenue rose 15% year-over-year to $178.5 million, while adjusted EBITDA of $36 million was up $10 million or 38% versus Q3 of 2024.
Treadway said that “RUCKUS is well positioned for strong growth in 2026, driven by our Wi-Fi 7 product offering, growing demand, and our strategic go-to-market investments.”
Offloading non-performing assets
CommScope’s CCS sale was only one part of the company’s broader restructuring process.
Last February, Amphenol completed its purchase of CommScope’s Outdoor Wireless Networks (OWN) and Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) businesses, giving it greater capabilities to support new, targeted wireless deployments.
The completion of this acquisition also marks the return of the Andrew Corp. name, which became part of CommScope when it acquired the company for $2.65 billion in 2007.
Like the sale of its CCS division, the OWN and DAS divestitures were also significant parts of CommScope’s restructuring efforts under the NEXT strategy it unveiled in 2021.
NEXT is focused on reallocating resources to business lines that it says have near—and long-term growth opportunities. Its sales of the DAS and OWN units reflect an effort to divest underperforming assets from its portfolio.
CommScope’s OWN segment, which includes the DAS business, has faced various financial struggles. In the first quarter of 2024, CommScope reported that OWN sales dipped 24.1 percent year over year to $196 million.
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About the Author
Sean BuckleySean Buckley
Sean is the Editor-in-Chief of Lightwave. He establishes and executes Lightwave's editorial strategy across its website, email newsletters, events, and other information products. Before coming to Lightwave in July 2023, he served as editor of Broadband Communities. Earlier, he served as senior editor of FierceTelecom and the editor of the former Telecommunications Magazine. He got his start in the optical industry in 1998 when he became the editor of enterprise and optical networks at Information Gatekeepers. He has a BA in English from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and lives in Dracut, Mass, with his wife, two sons, and his cat, Dove.
