Propagate Networks, Inc., whose embedded software lets Wi-Fi networks self-organize and automatically adjust to constantly changing radio frequency environments, today announced the opening of an engineering support office in Shanghai, and a partnership agreement with manufacturing sales representative ON Software.

ON Software has built strong relationships with local Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and is a fully authorized sales representative for Propagate.

These two business moves give Propagate presence in Taipei and Hsinchu, Taiwan, as well as Shanghai and Shenzen, China, the most important technology centers in the region. This will enable the company to work directly with ODMs and OEMs that are embedding Propagate AutoCell into high-volume products for Wi-Fi vendors like Netgear and others. Taiwan firms have continued to lead the development of low-cost, high-quality Wi-Fi products, and the Chinese role in the creation of Wi-Fi products is skyrocketing. In fact, the top four Taiwanese WLAN equipment makers shipped a total of 11.1 million WLAN products in the first half of 2003 alone. As these wireless network products begin to flood the consumer and business environment, the need to dynamically manage the increasingly crowded radio frequency in homes and offices increases exponentially. Residing in the firmware of APs and Wi-Fi client adapters, Propagate's AutoCell software automatically controls the complete radio frequency environment without the need for manual intervention.

Propagate's AutoCell is a lightweight, embedded software control system for wireless access points (APs) and clients (laptops, PDAs and phones) that creates self-configuring wireless LANs, eliminating the need for difficult and time-consuming management. Current Propagate partners include many Wi-Fi industry leaders such as Atheros Communications, Netgear, Chantry Networks, ReefEdge Networks and Bluesocket.