CTIA Wireless 2008
NextPoint Fortifies Integrated Border Gateway with Additional IP Mobility Functionality
| Apr 3, 2008 | IP Services Infrastructure | Show update
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Analyst: Jeff Ogle
Current Perspective: Positive
Vendor Importance: Moderate
Market Impact: Moderate/High |
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Event Summary
April 1, 2008 – NextPoint announced it has added new mobility-enabling features to its Integrated Border Gateway (IBG) product suite. This addition is designed to bring combined or distributed edge-to-edge IP session management solutions to fixed and mobile operators. NextPoint claims that the solution is in lab trials with Tier 1 service providers in North America, Europe and Asia.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on NextPoint’s addition of IP mobility functionality to its Integrated Border Gateway (IBG) session management product, as compliance with both 3GPP and 3GPP2 specifications for enabling devices to roam among disparate IP networks brings the platform closer to the concept of a convergence gateway, a product class proposed to enable operators to reduce the complexity of their access networks. By adding support for both the Packet Data Interworking Function (PDIF) and the Tunnel Termination Gateway (TTG), NextPoint’s IBG is able to provide IPsec termination and IP mobility for carriers deploying either CDMA- or GSM-based networks, respectively. While the PDIF function is generally available and set for customer trials, NextPoint still needs to complete integration of the TTG functionality, meaning that it could be several more months before the device is ready for GSM-based deployments.
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to NextPoint, which needed to show that it was capable of keeping up with the schedule it had set for development milestones of the IGB when the platform was introduced in late 2007. The inclusion of the PDIF and TTG functions, relatively on time, indicates that NextPoint’s product development efforts have not been slowed by distractions created by the merger of NexTone and Reef Point to form the company. From a competitive standpoint, it is important for NextPoint to show that it can keep up with the development prowess of rivals, such as Acme Packet, which introduced TTG functionality in February 2008.
• Market Impact: Moderate to high on the security gateway and session border controller (SBC) markets, which are on a course to add functionality to their respective products that enable service providers to offer fixed mobile convergence (FMC) services. These competitors are looking to add the rich mix of functionality and features to their products that match the needs of mobile and fixed operators that are looking to collapse multiple session management functions into one or a couple of devices. With the integration of both PDIF and TTG functionality into the IBG, NextPoint arguably takes the lead in assembling a multi-access convergence gateway.
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Current Perspective
Competitive Positives and Concerns
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