Om Malik alerts us that ReefEdge has had layoffs; he muses about their future: Om points out that the WLAN market slice for new players is exquisitely small with AireSpace taking the biggest part of that tiny piece of pie. ReefEdge is a switchmaking focused on policy issues, and Om can't get them to return his calls. He reports on the swirling rumors, which he has been unable to get the company to talk about.
Om asks, The big question, however remains for the venture capital community: how do you evaluate a start-up that is involved in highly commoditized business like WiFi? This question is equally valid for the enterprises looking to buy WLAN equipment. The ultimate end game is certainly acquisition by the big players of niche switch firms, and Airespace has seemed an obvious Cisco candidate for months and months.