{"id":743346,"date":"2013-03-25T14:04:23","date_gmt":"2013-03-25T18:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=623930"},"modified":"2013-03-25T14:04:23","modified_gmt":"2013-03-25T18:04:23","slug":"oracle-aims-to-shape-the-flow-of-mobile-data-with-tekelec-buy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/743346","title":{"rendered":"Oracle aims to shape the flow of mobile data with Tekelec buy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oracle isn\u2019t quite done shopping in the telecom market. On Monday it announced it is acquiring Tekelec<\/a>, a company that specializes in controlling the flow of data throughout mobile and wireline networks.<\/p>

In February, Oracle announced it would buy VoIP signaling vendor Acme Packet for $1.7 billion<\/a>. The terms of the Tekelec deal weren\u2019t disclosed. Once it closes on both investments, Oracle is set to become a signaling powerhouse.<\/p>

Tekelec specializes in the signaling protocols and load balancing technologies that prevent mobile networks from getting overloaded. For instance, the outages Verizon experienced on its LTE network<\/a> in late 2011 were partially attributable to signaling overload. Meanwhile, Acme Packet makes session border controllers (SBCs), which manages VoIP and multimedia control traffic that pass between carrier and enterprise networks.<\/p>

Oracle, however, will get more out of Tekelec than just signaling expertise. Tekelec is also a big player in the traffic-shaping world. Mobile operators use its policy servers to prioritize bits from certain type of applications \u2013 and certain subscribers\u2019 \u2013 over others. The result is a bunch of things most of you don\u2019t often find pleasant, such as throttling back your data speeds<\/a> when you exceed your monthly cap or detecting when you use your phone as a mobile hotspot<\/a> and charging you extra for it.<\/p>

But eventually those same policy management features will be used for a much broader range of features and tailored data plans. Jasper Wireless is using Tekelec traffic shaping technology to make data flow more smoothly in the internet of things<\/a>, for example. And operators are weighing new types of tiered data plans that allow customers to customize their network connections<\/a> based on the types of apps they use.<\/p>

\u201cOracle has in the past partnered to provide these capabilities, but by bringing them in-house it will have more opportunity to shape the roadmap and combine the capabilities in a more tightly-coupled solution,\u201d Ovum Principal Analyst Dana Cooperson said in a research note. \u201cExpect Oracle\u2019s telecom-focused competitors (Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, Ericsson, etc.) and it\u2019s IT-focused competitors (HP, SAP, SAS Institute) to do more strategic soul-searching and, as their financial situation allows, to pursue acquisitions of their own.\u201d<\/p>

Many of them already have. Cisco Systems\u00a0bought policy management firm BroadHop<\/a> in December, while Citrix System acquired ByteMobile<\/a>. <\/i><\/p>
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