About Us

Who We Are

NxGen Partners is an incubator of unique and significant ideas that are consequential in transforming industries. The ideas we invest in are first demonstrated in the lab, and then protected by unique patents resulting in technologies that are impactful to society at large. The team at NxGen have backgrounds in technology, engineering, science, telecom, tower and real estate infrastructure. They have held executive positions in telecom vendors as well as telecom operators and wireless tower companies. We are looking for Accelerator partners or commercial partners who may be interested to take the incubated ideas to the next step. In all cases we ensure that there is a patent portfolio behind the technology. The significant advantages of NxGen’s model include:

Lab demonstration
Rapid product development
Valuable product enhancements
Lower initial and long-term costs to potential users of the technology

History of Nxgen

NxGen Partners was founded in 2013 by Roger Linquist and Solyman Ashrafi. Roger, a pioneer in telecommunications, started his career at Texas Instruments in 1966 where he served as manager in the central research laboratories applying new technologies to advanced product systems. In 1976 Roger became a management consultant with McKinsey and Company. Roger then became the founder and CEO of PageMart, one of the largest publicly traded paging companies in the country. In 1994 Roger left PageMart to start MetroPCS. MetroPCS became the fifth largest facilities based wireless communications company in the US. At Metro Roger recruited Solyman Ashrafi to design and build the world’s first 4G network. Solyman also launched the first Rich Communications Services (RCS) with VoLTE is a subsystem. In 2013 T-Mobile acquired MetroPCS and Roger and Solyman left to start NxGen Partners to incubate transforming telecommunication technologies that they felt would be critical for 5G.

The Team

Solyman Ashrafi

Solyman was VP of technology at MetroPCS and has been a technology entrepreneur with over 25 years technology/product development expertise. After the merger of MetroPCS with T-Mobile, Solyman and Roger Linquist (MetroPCS founder) launched a technology incubator in 2013. Since then, Solyman has been investing in four major areas of 5G wireless/Communications, Defense/Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence/Blockchain/Quantum Computing, and Spectroscopy/Biosciences. Projects included fiber communications, cloud computing, millimeter waves for fixed wireless access and backhaul, in-building fiber, DAS, small cells, massive MIMO, CBRS, 5G, IoT, AI, data centers/MEC, QKD-based blockchain and quantum computing (multi-photon hyper-entanglement with higher radix qudits). Technologies include new temporal, new spatial techniques to increase spectral efficiency in both fiber, cable, twisted pair and wireless. It also includes OpenRAN, CORD, ONAP, NFV/SDN based solutions with cloud native 5G leveraging over 100 of his patents and 80 refereed publications. At MetroPCS, he was leading the development of first LTE network in the world. He also led the social, messaging, digital media (music & video), financial services, advertising, and VoLTE/RCS product teams. He was responsible for all product partnerships with telecom operators, internet companies, advertising agencies, video/music content providers, search companies, App developers and OTTs. Prior to MetroPCS, he designed and built telecom networks for major operators in the U.S. and Europe and held executive positions at LCC, Nortel, Computer Sciences Corporation and Ericsson. During his career, Solyman raised multiple funds and launched several venture-backed companies in software, technology and cloud-based applications. Solyman was the stakeholder Board member of an incubator in 1997 and an accelerator in 1999 for their investment on new technology companies. He received a Ph.D. in Applied Physics, a MEE in Communications Eng., a MSC in Wave Propagation and a BEE degree in Electrical Eng. He is also on the EE advisory board of SMU in Dallas. Publications in ResearchGate.net, Google Scholar and Academia.edu

Andrew Campbell

Andrew Campbell was a partner in the Business Transactions section of Andrews & Kurth, LLP. During his more than 26 years of private legal practice, Mr. Campbell represented a wide variety of business clients but focused primarily on representing registered investment advisors, telecommunications carriers and related technology companies.
During the first 10 years of MetroPCS, Mr. Campbell was lead counsel to MetroPCS responsible for managing and implementing all of the company’s legal affairs, including its network deployment activities, licensed spectrum acquisition and management and corporate M&A activities.
Currently Mr. Campbell manages the large portfolio of intellectual property owned by NxGen, as well as managing the deployment of in-building and private campus technology and communication systems and infrastructure.
Mr. Campbell holds a BBA, JD, and MBA from Southern Methodist University.

Jeff Howard

Former Co-founder and Managing Director of Peppertree Capital Management, Inc. (“Peppertree”), a Cleveland-based private equity firm focused primarily on wireless telecommunications infrastructure companies. In that capacity, he served on the boards of companies including Horvath Towers Holdings, LLC, Pegasus Tower Development, LLC, Clearview Tower Holdings, LLC and K2 Towers, LLC. Prior to the formation of Peppertree, Mr. Howard held an equivalent position with Tregan Partners, LLC (“Tregan”), a Dallas-based private equity firm focused primarily on wireless telecommunications companies. In that capacity, he served on the boards of companies including 4G Towers, LLC, Mericom, Inc. and two Sprint PCS affiliates, Washington Oregon Wireless, LLC and the largest Sprint PCS affiliate, Alamosa Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: APCS).
Prior to joining Tregan, Mr. Howard served on the board of OmniAmerica, Inc. (“OmniAmerica”; formerly NASDAQ: XMIT) and was President of OmniAmerica’s tower development subsidiary OmniAmerica Development Corporation (“ODC”). Between the time of ODC’s formation and OmniAmerica’s acquisition by American Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT), Mr. Howard guided ODC from a start-up to being one of the largest wireless telecommunications tower developers in the United States. Prior to joining OmniAmerica, Mr. Howard served on the board and as CFO of OmniAmerica’s predecessor, Specialty Teleconstructors, Inc. (“Specialty”; formerly, NASDAQ:SCTR).
Prior to joining Specialty, Mr. Howard was a transactional attorney with Haynes and Boone, LLP, and Jordan, Howard & Pennington, LLP, primarily representing telecommunications companies in acquisitions and in equity and debt financings. Mr. Howard holds a JD degree and a BBA degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Corey Linquist

In 1994 Corey was a founding member of the small team of 4, led by Roger Linquist at MetroPCS. The company was formed to participate in the FCC’s Broadband C Block Auction (“Minority/Women-owned and Small Business Auction”) with a goal of bringing “affordable” wireless service to the public. As the company’s Director of Strategic Planning, he helped shape the company’s strategy to compete against larger and entrenched incumbents, including the decision to offer “unlimited” call plans.
In 2001 Corey became General Manager of the company’s Sacramento market where he oversaw the buildout of the market. Following launch of commercial operations in 2002, he assumed full Profit/Loss responsibility for all the market’s technical and sales activities. Later in 2007, he assumed the additional responsibility of building and then operating the Las Vegas market, where his technical team was first within MetroPCS to launch publically available commercial LTE service in 2010. Corey’s diverse experience set gained from his time with MetroPCS has given him a broad perspective on issues related to communication system issues pertaining to design, deployment and operation. MetroPCS was later sold to T-Mobile in a $33B transaction in 2013 (one of the largest in the year).
Prior to joining MetroPCS, Corey spent the prior two years working as their Director of Strategic Planning at PageMart Wireless, which at that time was a national provider of paging and other narrowband services. There he helped devise that company’s strategy narrowband PCS strategy and its efforts to acquire narrowband PCS spectrum. He has received his MBA (finance), JD and BBA with a marketing emphasis. Following the merger of MetroPCS with T-Mobile, Corey joined NxGen Partners.

Logan Campbell

Mr. Campbell holds a BS in Electrical Engineering and a BS in Mathematics from Southern Methodist Univeristy.