Kineto Wireless made its name from unlicensed mobile access (UMA), the protocol that routes WiFi calls over the Internet to a carrier’s mobile core. But Kineto’s newly appointed CEO Jeff Brown is trying to dispel the notion that Kineto only dabbles in one small niche of the wireless industry. Rather, Brown pointed out on his official first day on the job, Kineto is evolving into a company with the grander scheme of enabling wireless communication over any IP network.
“Kineto is a lot more than just UMA,” said Brown, the former CEO of RadioFrame. “We’re just as good at negotiating the IP-to-circuit-switched or IP-to-wireless-core applications space.”
WiFi FMC was starting point for Kineto, not a destination, Brown explained. Kineto’s ultimate goal is become a vendor of multi-access solutions that can allow any device to connect to an operator’s network over the public Internet or IP network. While UMA accomplished that goal for WiFi-enabled phones, Kineto is supporting a wide-range of solutions that include data as well as voice. It’s biggest target today, though, is the femtocell.
Kineto is positioning its gateway and client software for a femto market that goes far beyond home coverage solutions. By using UMA, IP and eventually IP multimedia system (IMS) protocols, whole femto and picocell networks can be created to handle the increasing data demands, Brown said. Kineto has developed an enterprise platform that can support a private network cluster of femtocells on a corporate campus, but eventually those tiny base stations could expand into the public network, augmenting the macro network with pockets and clusters of coverage.
By targeting the femtocell, Kineto is moving into a much more crowded space than it occupied with UMA. Tier I wireless infrastructure vendors are all pursuing their own femtocell product lines. New infrastructure companies like Stoke–which just scored a big win with NTT DoCoMo (NYSE:DCM)– are specializing in multi-access gateways. And established gateway suppliers like Genband and Starent Networks (NASDAQ:STAR) are expanding their portfolios to include femtocell management. While all of those vendors are vying for the same customers as Kineto, they aren’t necessarily competitors. Kineto has either already partnered or is in discussions to partner with many of the key gateway vendors in the market.
When IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) architectures fully emerge, Kineto will also have to contend with the session border controller (SBC) suppliers like Acme Packet for business. But Brown said Kineto does have an advantage in that area. While it too is pursuing next-generation architectures, its original UMA expertise lay in connecting carriers’ legacy voice systems through IP. Those legacy voice cores aren’t going anywhere soon. “Those circuit-switched cores for voice–there’s nothing wrong with them,” Brown said. “They’ve been in place for 20 years and they’re still growing.”