Mavenir to bolster telecom diameter signaling platform with Ulticom purchase

by Dan Meyer January 13, 2015

written by Dan Meyer January 13, 2015

Ulticom’s diameter signaling platform expertise key to deal

The need for more robust telecom software platforms continues to spur industry consolidation as Mavenir Systems announced plans to acquire Ulticom.

The deal would see Mavenir add Ulticom’s telecom signaling expertise to its current software-based networking services after having previously resold Ulticom’s diameter signaling platform to five tier-one mobile operators.

Mavenir said Ulticom’s scalable, virtualized diameter signaling controller will provide an “increasingly critical network element” to its portfolio as mobile operators continue to launch signaling intensive services like voice over LTE. Mavenir noted that Ulticom currently works with 10 tier-one operators around the world, including two of the industry’s top 10 mobile operators.

Financial terms of the deal were not released, though Mavenir’s stock (MVNR) was up more than 5% early Tuesday. The deal is expected to close by the end of the month.

“Without question, the explosive growth of mobile data traffic and the increase in VoLTE deployments creates a need to better manage signaling traffic at scale,” said Pardeep Kohli, president and CEO of Mavenir. “Tier-one customers have already adopted Ulticom’s DSC, powerful evidence of the team’s expertise and strategic importance to the marketplace. Ulticom also brings deep channel relationships to Mavenir in this accretive acquisition.”

Mavenir recently announced that its IMS core network and Telephony Application Server was being used by T-Mobile US as part of the carrier’s recently launched VoLTE service. Mavenir said its platform is designed to ensure compatibility between VoLTE and voice over Wi-Fi solutions with legacy network services.

There was no word from Mavenir on workforce implications from the Ulticom deal, with the firm only stating that it looked “forward to having [Ulticom] join the Mavenir team.”

The proposed deal follows Mavenir’s planned acquisition of network security provider Stoke late last year that would also see Mavenir bolster its signaling platform and better compete against the likes of Cisco Systems, Genband and Radisys.

RCR Wireless News recently spoke with Mavenir about the current hype surrounding the network function virtualization space. Ian MacLean, VP of strategy and marketing at Mavenir, provided insight into where the NFV market currently stood in terms of supporting the wireless communications market, why the hype of NFV continues to outpace reality and how wireless carriers will eventually be able to benefit from NFV to expand services. MacLean explained that while NFV will indeed be a crucial part of the evolution of telecom networks, the current market is still in its infancy, and that he did not expect significant deployments to happen until at least next year.