Sonus signs OEM deal with Motorola

Sonus Networks said it has signed an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement with Motorola under which it will provide its GSX9000 switch to Motorola, which will package that unit with its own Motorola SoftSwitch.

The packaged solution will target wireless carriers who are just starting to deploy softswitches as a way to slash backhaul costs, according to Michael O’Hara, vice president of marketing for Sonus.

"Wireless soft switching is probably a little behind wireline," he said. "There’s a lot of early adoption in Asia."

The GSX9000 is a Class 4 solution that has been deployed by a number of wireline carriers including Qwest, Verizon and AT&T. The company has made some headway into the wireless market, but has yet to announce any customers publicly, O’Hara said. Teaming up with Motorola, which will act as the sales lead for wireless carriers, gives the company a lot greater reach, he added.

"It’s a pure OEM agreement with a Motorola-badged gateway," O’Hara said. ""We’ve already gone through the interoperability phase and we’ve made everything sing well together."