Airgain and Nextivity Forge Alliance to Redefine 5G Coverage

SAN DIEGO, CA – March 02, 2026 – In a strategic move set to reshape the landscape of wireless connectivity, Airgain, Inc. (NASDAQ: AIRG) and Nextivity, Inc. have announced a landmark partnership to co-develop next-generation 4G and 5G coverage solutions. The collaboration aims to eliminate wireless dead zones in the most challenging environments by integrating the two companies' complementary technologies, promising a more scalable and cost-effective path to ubiquitous connectivity.

The announcement comes as industry leaders gather for MWC Barcelona, where both companies will be briefing operator customers and partners on the initiative, signaling a concerted effort to gain immediate market traction. This partnership directly addresses the growing pains of 5G deployment, particularly the difficulty of extending high-performance signals across complex indoor-outdoor venues, enterprise campuses, and public spaces.

A Synergy of Intelligent Technologies

At the heart of this collaboration is the fusion of two distinct but highly complementary technology platforms: Airgain's Lighthouse™ 5G Intelligent Node and Nextivity's GO family of repeaters, powered by its proprietary IntelliBoost® processor. Together, they form a powerful, end-to-end system designed to intelligently capture, amplify, and distribute cellular signals where they are needed most.

Airgain’s Lighthouse™ platform acts as the intelligent front-end of the system. It is a high-power 5G Smart Network Controlled Repeater (NCR) that excels at pulling in weak cellular signals from distant macro towers. Its key innovation is an optional integrated smart donor antenna with advanced beam-forming capabilities. This technology allows the unit to dynamically steer its focus to lock onto the optimal signal source, simplifying installation and maximizing signal acquisition without the need for manual antenna alignment. Critically, the Lighthouse platform operates without a dedicated fiber backhaul connection, a requirement that often adds significant cost and complexity to network densification projects. This feature, combined with a recently introduced solar-powered version, enables rapid deployment in a vast range of scenarios, from urban canyons to remote industrial sites.

Once the Lighthouse platform captures the signal, Nextivity's technology takes over to handle amplification and distribution. Nextivity has built its reputation on its IntelliBoost® chipset, a sophisticated processor that makes its CEL-FI and SHIELD repeaters "unconditionally network safe." This is a crucial distinction that has earned the company approval from over 200 mobile network operators worldwide. The IntelliBoost processor analyzes signals on a per-carrier basis, cleaning up noise, mitigating interference, and preventing feedback to the carrier's macro network. This allows Nextivity's systems to provide significantly higher gain—up to 100dB in some cases—than competing solutions, resulting in a much larger and more reliable coverage footprint.

"This partnership establishes a path for combining Airgain’s smart beam forming antenna systems and Lighthouse™ 5G Intelligent Node platform with Nextivity’s intelligent coverage technologies,” said Dr. Ali Sadri, Chief Technology Officer of Airgain, in the original announcement. “Together, we are driving the development of integrated systems to extend 4G and 5G coverage across complex indoor and outdoor environments.”

Dr. Michiel Lotter, Chief Executive Officer of Nextivity, echoed this sentiment, stating, “This strategic partnership with Airgain positions both companies to address an expanding set of customer coverage requirements that extend into outdoor environments. We’re excited about the broader opportunities this collaboration creates for both companies.”

Targeting a Multi-Billion Dollar Coverage Gap

The strategic timing and nature of this partnership are directly tied to the explosive growth and inherent challenges of the 5G era. The market for solutions that extend cellular coverage, encompassing technologies like Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS), in-building wireless, and cellular repeaters, is already valued in the tens of billions of dollars and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) well into the double digits.

Market analysts value the global DAS market alone at nearly $10 billion in 2024, with projections suggesting it could surpass $26 billion by 2030. The broader in-building wireless market is even larger, driven by the proliferation of IoT devices, smart building initiatives, and the insatiable demand for mobile data. The rollout of mid-band 5G, which offers a blend of speed and coverage, has particularly highlighted the need for network densification. These frequencies, while faster than low-band, do not penetrate buildings and obstacles as effectively, creating a pressing need for cost-efficient solutions to fill coverage gaps.

Traditionally, extending coverage has relied on expensive macro cell deployments or complex, fiber-fed DAS installations that can be prohibitive for many enterprises and property owners. The Airgain-Nextivity partnership aims to disrupt this model by providing a more agile and financially accessible alternative that delivers carrier-grade performance without the associated overhead.

Real-World Impact From the Enterprise to Public Safety

The practical applications for this integrated technology are vast. The collaboration is aimed squarely at what the companies describe as "mixed-use / indoor-outdoor sites"—a category that includes everything from corporate and university campuses to sprawling sports stadiums, shopping malls, and logistics centers. In these environments, maintaining seamless connectivity as users move between buildings and open spaces is a significant challenge.

For enterprises, the benefits are clear. Reliable 4G and 5G coverage is no longer a luxury but a foundational utility for productivity, enabling everything from mobile-first workflows and IoT sensor networks to private 5G applications. A scalable, easily deployed solution that can cover an entire facility, both inside and out, removes a major barrier to digital transformation.

The impact on public safety is equally profound. Many jurisdictions now mandate reliable in-building coverage for first responder communications. The joint solution, leveraging Nextivity's expertise in public safety systems, can ensure that police, fire, and medical personnel maintain critical communication links during emergencies, regardless of their location within a large complex.

By combining a backhaul-free intelligent node with a powerful, network-safe repeater system, Airgain and Nextivity are creating a new architectural option for network planners. This approach can be used to rapidly upgrade existing 4G infrastructure to support 5G, extend the reach of the macro network into underserved areas, and provide dedicated, high-quality coverage for specific venues, all at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional methods. As both companies prepare to engage with the global telecom ecosystem at MWC Barcelona, the industry will be watching closely to see how this powerful alliance redefines the path to truly ubiquitous 5G.