Stoke Transforms IP Service Delivery for Converged Fixed and Mobile
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Stoke Transforms IP Service Delivery for Converged Fixed and Mobile Networks
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, November 15 /PRNewswire/ --
- Stoke unites industry leaders from different disciplines to address key IP service
delivery and mobility challenges in carrier networks - Company closes US$20 million
Series B round from world-class investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
and Sequoia Capital - First-of-its-kind IP service delivery platform in operator trials
Stoke, Inc. exited stealth mode today and unveiled plans to deliver an IP service
delivery platform built for converged fixed and mobile networks. The company is led by a
world-class management team from some of the most prominent names in IP and
telecommunications infrastructure. The company also announced it has secured US$20
million in Series B funding in an oversubscribed round, bringing the total funding for
the company to US$30 million.
Investors in the Series B round include existing backers Kleiner Perkins Caufield
& Byers and Sequoia Capital, as well as new investors Integral Capital Partners,
Pilot House Ventures and Presidio STX, LLC.
Operators worldwide are moving towards a common IP service delivery environment, with
the objective of delivering mobile voice, data and video services in a consistent way,
regardless of access technology. Significant challenges must be overcome to deliver
secure and reliable "anyone anywhere" services with seamless mobility across fixed and
wireless networks. Stoke's IP service delivery platform uniquely addresses these
challenges with a highly scalable, carrier-class solution.
"The economic necessities of fixed-mobile convergence are clear, and operators are
moving quickly to optimize and evolve their business models and networks," said Ryan
Jarvis, Chairman of the Fixed-Mobile Convergence Alliance. "This transformation requires
new IP networking solutions designed specifically for network convergence and the
mobility of end users. Stoke is focused this significant market."
The Stoke platform, currently in operator trials, transforms disparate networks into a
single virtual IP network, simplifying service delivery and enabling personalized services
over any access network to any device. The architecture of Stoke's platform meets the
leading worldwide industry standards, including 3GPP/IMS and 3GPP2/MMD, ETSI/TIPSAN and
CableLab's PCMM specifications. Stoke is targeting fixed and mobile operators as well as
new market entrants including VoIP providers. The Stoke platform will be generally
available in the first half of 2006.
"The real value of network convergence is enabling carriers to deliver services to
users in the most optimal way, wherever they happen to be at the time. To do this
effectively, carriers must manage each user session individually, including all the
appropriate connectivity, security, QoS and mobility aspects," said Randall Kruep,
founder and CEO of Stoke. "This is creating a need for a whole new class of high
performance IP service delivery platform. A solution is needed that can scale to support
very large numbers of dynamic, secure multimedia sessions and seamlessly mobilize those
sessions across various access networks as people move or as carrier operational
realities dictate."
"We believe the future of communications is in wireless as the default connectivity
for consumers and enterprise users, and a critical step on the road to that eventuality
is the integration of today's fixed and mobile networks -- of all forms -- into a single
system image," said Craig J. Mathias, a principal with the wireless and mobile advisory
firm Farpoint Group (Ashland, MA). "A necessary element in this convergence is a uniform
IP-based environment capable of supporting a very broad range of applications
-- precisely the direction Stoke has defined."
Stoke brings together a world-class team with a proven track record of delivering
successful new products and technologies to the carrier marketplace, comprised of
industry leaders and innovative engineering, sales and marketing talent from Cisco,
Juniper, Nokia, Redback, 3COM, Motorola and Sun. Its members have played significant
roles in delivering the solutions running much of the world's voice and IP traffic today.
Stoke's engineering team has a unique combination of IP networking, cellular, Wi-Fi and
broadband technology expertise.
"Stoke has all the essential elements in place to lead this market," said Dan
Warmenhoven, CEO of Network Appliance, Inc., and Chairman of Stoke's Board of Directors.
"The company has an experienced, well-proven team, the backing of a group of world-class
investors, a solid history of execution to date, and a well-defined plan to address this
fast growing market opportunity. All of these ingredients make a recipe for success."
About Stoke, Inc.
Stoke is accelerating the adoption of IP-based communications by solving the service
delivery challenges associated with network convergence and mobility. Stoke is
headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in the UK and Japan. For more
information about Stoke, please visit www.stoke.com.
Web site: www.stoke.com