Friday, October 27, 2006

NewStep - Raising $, Gaining Traction

It's not every day that Canadian vendors in the IP space raise money, so I just wanted to note some good news on that front. NewStep Networks is emerging as a strong player in FMC, and earlier this week announced a raise of $7 million.

The funds come from existing investors, and it looks like the money will be used to expand operations, strengthen partnerships, and better position them for Tier 1 wins. This certainly seems to be the recipe that smaller vendors need to follow these days as they race to keep up with with bigger vendors, who in turn are consolidating to stay in step with the consolidation taking place at the top of the food chain with the carriers.

Speaking of large carriers, yesterday Newstep also announced an FMC deal with Embarq, with what could be the first residential FMC rollout in the U.S. The idea is to allow consumers to be reached on any of their devices - fixed or mobile - with just one number, across any network, including WiFi. It looks like WiFi is set to become the BIG STORY of 2007, and with all the muni WiFi activity going on, you can't help but think it will be a good year for NewStep too.


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