An open Letter about the implosion of Cambium Networks

To the product teams, support organization, partners, and remaining employees of Cambium Networks:

First and foremost, my heart goes out to you during these tough, uncertain times. Over the past couple of years, Cambium has taken a beating in the forums and groups. Those of us who understand how the world works always knew that employees who interfaced with the customer world weren’t tied to the decisions made at the corporate level. The questions and frustration were never really directed at you, but you sometimes took the brunt.  Understanding the distinction between Cambium Corporate and Cambium Operations is key to this letter.

Let’s call what happened what it is. An Implosion. Cambium Corporate failed both you and us. Us being the investor, the operator, the distributor, and the advocate. For those who followed the unfolding saga of multiple auditors, failed filings, and COVID-era manufacturing decisions (to name just a few), we were often critical of Cambium Corporate, not of Cambium Operations. At times, this felt like attacks on passionate employees.  It’s hard to work at a company and not care emotionally about your workplace. These questions came from passionate people basing their livelihood on a company, not just a product. 

The stock price and associated activities are always an indicator of how a company is doing.   You can’t hide this from the world.  Cambium faltered big time because they didn’t address issues and keep addressing them until they are resolved.  Customer and investor confidence matter a lot in today’s market.  When things like this happen, the product should take a back seat, and the message should take center stage.

Over the next weeks and months, we will hear the spin about “the perfect storm” and other factors.  Folks will talk about BABA, Bead, and the decline of fixed wireless.  We will hear about slow product pipelines.  We will also hear the “I told you so” folks talk about how competitors crushed them, etc. These are factors, but they are by-products of corporate-level failure. Cambium has top-tier products.  The United States is not their only market.

The WISP landscape is changing, and the Cambium implosion is a huge indicator of this.  There are no answers right now.  I expect we will see some announcements over the next few weeks or months.   There will be pieces to be picked up.  Once we see who picks up those pieces and how, that will be the time for requests about moving forward.  I have my own thoughts on this but can’t talk about them yet without revealing some non-public knowledge. Once this becomes public, look for my “next steps” letter.

In the meantime, keep the folks you worked with regularly in your thoughts.  Share their LinkedIn profiles if they post that they are looking.   Focus on the human side while we wait for the chips to fall.

Be seeing you,

Justin Wilson
j2sw.com
packetsdownrange.com

j2networks family of sites
https://j2sw.com
https://startawisp.info
https://indycolo.net
#packetsdownrange #routethelight