General Instrument buys Next Level Communications

General Instrument buys Next Level Communications

Broadband communications specialist General Instrument Corp. (Chicago, IL) has acquired fiberoptic component manufacturer Next Level Communications (NLC, Rohnert Park, CA) for $85 million. General Instrument will use the acquisition to establish a presence in the switched-digital-video market, taking advantage of the shift by several regional telephone companies toward fiber-to-the-curb technology. The company will operate NLC as a subsidiary, though it will incorporate the NLC broadband access system Nlevel3 in its existing product line. NLC founders Tom Eames and Pete Keeler will remain as company principals, reporting to General Instrument CEO Richard S. Friedland. In its last quarterly financial disclosure, General Instrument reported revenues of $2 billion in FY1994.