NexTone Communications

About NexTone Communications

NexTone Communications, founded in 1998 by Raj Sharma and Ravi Narayan, was a provider of Voice over IP (VoIP) infrastructure for carriers and service providers. The company, headquartered in Germantown, Maryland, specialized in developing software that enabled communications firms to route, manage, and control internet telephone calls. Its core product was the Multiprotocol Signaling Switch (MSW), designed to help service providers interconnect their voice networks, addressing challenges like SIP/H.323 signaling interworking and network security.

The company's business model focused on selling its VoIP infrastructure solutions to service providers, allowing them to offer services such as long-distance, international, and local calling over IP networks. NexTone's technology was a key component for companies like MASERGY, enabling them to deliver SIP-based voice services to enterprise customers regardless of their existing infrastructure.

Throughout its history, NexTone achieved significant growth, increasing its annual revenues to $14.7 million by 2005 and securing over $92 million in venture capital from investors including One Equity Partners, Blue Rock Capital, and Core Capital Partners. The company grew to approximately 300 employees with a global presence. In 2007, NexTone was acquired by NextPoint Networks, which itself was formed through the merger of NexTone and Reef Point Systems Inc. Subsequently, in 2008, Genband acquired NextPoint Networks, incorporating its session border controller and security gateway offerings. This series of acquisitions eventually led to the formation of Ribbon Communications in 2017, following the merger of Genband and Sonus Networks.