GENBAND Acquires Technologies, DCO Product Line From Siemens Networks

GENBAND has acquired the Digital Central Office business of Siemens Networks LLC. Perhaps more importantly, however, the deal allows GENBAND to provide open interfaces for next-generation network solutions to both the DCO and the Siemens North American EWSD installed base. Meanwhile, Siemens retains ownership of the EWSD line and will continue to service and support the installed base of 1,100 EWSD switching systems.

In addition to those interface rights, the deal, for which financial details were not disclosed, includes 27 DCO employees in Boca Raton and Lake Mary, Fla.; the DCO product portfolio; as well as service and support infrastructure for more than 2,500 DCO host and remote switches across North America.

“We’re buying the DCO business, which is profitable, and we’re getting the people who have been running it for years. But the really big value to the customer base is our ability to migrate the DCO and also rights to interface with the EWSD line base to next-generation networks,” said Jody Bennett, GENBAND’s vice president of corporate development and marketing. GENBAND early next year intends to make enhancements to its G6 Universal Media Gateway to allow DCO and EWSD customers ready to migrate to a next-generation platform to move to IMS and other open standards-based protocols and products, he said, adding there are 14 million lines installed on DCO and EWSD switches in North America today.

This is GENBAND’s first such relationship with a legacy switch vendor, but the company is exploring partnerships with other equipment suppliers, Bennett said.

“Our vision and mission relative to transitioning today’s central office has been to deliver best-of-breed, standard-based, IP infrastructure products to service providers world-wide,” said Charles D. Vogt, president and CEO of GENBAND, a long-time Siemens technology partner in which Siemens has an investment. “We are excited about the opportunity we have to offer our products and solutions to an expanded base of customers. With our growing portfolio of IMS-based infrastructure products and multimedia applications, GENBAND is committed to providing service providers with flexible and cost-effective next-generation VoIP and multimedia solutions.”

In addition to GENBAND’s G6 Universal Media Gateway, the company’s IMS-compliant product line consists of the S4 Applications Server, the C2 Signaling Controller, and the M5 Multimedia Applications Server.

The Siemens deal is just the latest for GENBAND, which has closed three acquisitions this year alone. In addition to the Siemens deal, the company in August announced it had purchased BayPackets Inc. for an undisclosed sum. That deal was intended to strengthen its position as a strategic supplier of IP-based application and infrastructure solutions for VoIP and IMS networks worldwide. The company also recently brought Syndeo into the fold to address SIP to SS7 signaling.

In 2005, GENBAND recorded $20 million in revenue, saw 180 percent customer growth, 300 percent bookings growth, 260 percent revenue growth and 325 percent port shipment growth.

GENBAND www.GENBAND.com
Siemens AG www.usa.siemens.com
Siemens Networks LLC www.siemens.com/networks

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