TMCnet’s Greg Galitzine announced the rumor on October 19^th that NexTone and Reef Point were to merge. Today the news becomes real as the companies are combining to create NextPoint. Here are some quick facts and quotes according to the companies:

 

 

 

 

“The integration of session border controllers for both fixed and mobile networks with a security gateway enabled by the merger of Reef Point and NexTone will create a powerful product family for next generation networks,” said Malcolm Wardlaw, Director, Converged Services, Intelligence and Applications, BT. “The IBG has the potential to simplify network design as well as reduce the total cost of ownership in a converged world, supporting the needs of our customers in an all-IP world.”

 

“The increasing demand for secured IP-based mobility services in a multi-access environment is creating a need for a new category of equipment called the multi-access convergence gateways that provides intelligent interaction with subscribers, services, and transport mechanisms,” said Stéphane Téral, Principal Analyst, Service Provider VoIP, IMS & FMC, Infonetics Research. “This new network element collapses session border controller and security gateways along with other existing packet-based products for mobile networks into one single platform that optimizes any type of FMC architecture. The combination of NexTone and Reef Point into a single company is good news for the industry and an example of this fundamental shift toward multi-access convergence gateways.”

 

NexTone and Reef Point announced December 4, 2007 that they will merge to create NextPoint. Definitive agreements were signed December 2, 2007, and the transaction is expected to close in early January, so the companies can enter 2008 as one company.