NexTone & Reef Point join forces to deliver comprehensive solutions for fixed and mobile operators as NextPoint
• Combined companies to deliver first Integrated Border Gateway, in addition to full suite of products under the new NextPoint name
• Woody Ritchey named CEO; David Walsh named Chairman
• JP Morgan Chase’s One Equity Partners leads $20 Million investment round to address accelerating market demand
Gaithersburg, MD and Billerica, MA – 4th December, 2007 – In a move that creates the world’s first fully integrated fixed-mobile connectivity platform, NexTone Communications, Inc., the leading software-centric session border controller and session management provider and Reef Point Systems, Inc., the leading mobile access universal convergence gateway provider, today announced they will merge to form NextPoint™ Networks, Inc.. The combined company will bring mobile and fixed-network operators around the world the ability to quickly, securely and profitably deliver voice, data and video services over all-IP networks.
The new company’s growth will be supported by a US$20 million round of funding led by One Equity Partners, the private equity arm of JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), and joined by American Capital (Nasdaq: ACAS), Core Capital Partners, Jerusalem Venture Partners, Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE: SFE), and Summerhill Venture Partners. “As the first company in the world to offer a complete range of intelligent, secure and high-scale fixed and mobile IP connectivity solutions, NextPoint unlocks enormous value for operators, service providers and large enterprises around the world,” said David Walsh, Chairman of NextPoint. “With the proven leadership of our CEO, Woody Ritchey, the talented and experienced teams from both companies, and technology that is unmatched in the marketplace, we look forward to an exciting period of accelerated growth.”
Building on the strength of NexTone’s established global footprint as a leading provider of software-centric session border controller and session management technologies, and incorporating Reef Point’s unparalleled mobile access capabilities, NextPoint , working with its established and growing partner base, will continue to serve fixed, mobile and FMC operators around the world. The companies currently support a growing footprint of over 550 wholesale carriers and service providers, as well as a number of large, global enterprises.
As part of the merger, Woody Ritchey was named Chief Executive Officer of NextPoint. For the last eighteen months, Mr. Ritchey has led Reef Point into successful trials and deployments with tier-one mobile operators around the world.
“This is a very exciting day for the customers, partners and employees of this new organisation, which combines the strengths and accomplishments of NexTone and Reef Point,” said Mr. Ritchey. “With the introduction of our Integrated Border Gateway (IBG) earlier this year, which brings NexTone’s intelligent session border control product together with Reef Point’s high-scale, multi-protocol Security Gateway, we are proud to bring significant efficiencies to the architects and operators of fixed, mobile and converged networks as one, global company.”
“Through this combination, NextPoint brings together fixed and mobile networks securely and intelligently, with interoperability and integration considerations built in,” said Tom Jasny, Vice President of Wireless Systems and Broadband for Samsung Telecommunications America. “Working with the team at NextPoint, we will be able to bring an even broader set of partnered capabilities to operators and service providers who look to Samsung for leading edge FMC network solutions.”
“The integration of session border controllers for both fixed and mobile networks with a security gateway enabled by the merger of Reef Point and NexTone will create a powerful product family for next generation networks,” said Malcolm Wardlaw, Director, Converged Services, Intelligence and Applications, BT. “The IBG has the potential to simplify network design as well as reduce the total cost of ownership in a converged world, supporting the needs of our customers in an all-IP world.”
“The increasing demand for secured IP-based mobility services in a multi-access environment is creating a need for a new category of equipment called the multi-access convergence gateways that provides intelligent interaction with subscribers, services, and transport mechanisms,” said Stéphane Téral, Principal Analyst, Service Provider VoIP, IMS & FMC, Infonetics Research. “This new network element collapses session border controller and security gateways along with other existing packet-based products for mobile networks into one single platform that optimizes any type of FMC architecture. The combination of NexTone and Reef Point into a single company is good news for the industry and an example of this fundamental shift toward multi-access convergence gateways.”
