19 June 2013

Openet acquires UCD spin-out Forkstream! We are proud and happy for Dr John Fitzpatrick and Dr Hamid Nafaa, who were PELers when they founded this successful spin-out company from University College Dublin!

Transaction management software developer Openet has acquired University College Dublin (UCD) spin-out Forkstream for an undisclosed sum. Forkstream, a policy management company supported by Enterprise Ireland, has technology that enables operators to define policies for routing mobile data streams within and between different access networks. Forkstream’s client side technology links to the network core via Openet’s Interaction Gateway, which lets operators manage network access policies using their Policy Controls Rules Function (PCRF), and uses standards that allow consumer devices to find and communicate with non-3GPP networks, such as Wi-Fi or WiMAX.

This, the companies said, provides granular control of traffic offload policies and enables new business models that include service options specific to an access network. “Integrating Forkstream into the Openet PCC ecosystem enables our customers to overcome many challenges related to seamlessly integrating multiple access networks with cellular services,” said Openet CTO Joe Hogan.

“They developed an elegant solution to ensure cross-network session continuity and flow management, which is key to a quality user experience.” Forkstream co-founder John Fitzpatrick said the company is thrilled to join Openet at a time when operators are investing heavily in multi-access networks and cross-network services. “Supporting network access decisions within the policy and charging infrastructure makes it easy for operators to deliver more to their customers,” Fitzpatrick said.