CounterPath Establishes Leadership Position in VoIP Market with Strategic Acquisition of BridgePort Networks
February 05 2008 - 8:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
Becomes first VoIP solution "one stop shop" for service provider
and enterprise customers by adding carrier-class Fixed Mobile
Convergence (FMC) solutions to growing portfolio VANCOUVER, Feb. 5
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CounterPath Corporation (OTCBB: COPA), a
leading provider of desktop and mobile VoIP software products and
solutions, today announced that it has acquired BridgePort
Networks, Inc., a leading innovator in Fixed Mobile Convergence
(FMC) solutions for service providers. The addition of
carrier-class FMC solutions to its VoIP softphone and enterprise
offerings immediately broadens the company's market reach. Fixed
and mobile service providers gain a competitive advantage by
offering CounterPath's integrated voice, video, messaging and
presence-based services for consumers and enterprises on virtually
any mobile and SIP-enabled device. The acquisition firmly
establishes CounterPath as a provider of innovative FMC solutions
and an early leader in the growing mobile VoIP solution space. "We
are rapidly executing on the new strategy and vision that started
with our acquisition of NewHeights Software, that is, to transform
CounterPath from a leading desktop softphone company to an
innovative 'one stop shop' VoIP solutions company," said Greg
Pelling, Chief Executive Officer of CounterPath. "Our acquisition
of BridgePort Networks builds on the value of our most recent
acquisition of FirstHand Technologies, a leader in Enterprise FMC.
By adding BridgePort's unique carrier-class FMC offerings, we now
become the industry innovation leader for service providers,
enterprises, small and medium businesses and consumers as the only
company offering a tailored platform that seamlessly bridges voice,
text messaging, multimedia, video and presence-based applications
between virtually any networks - fixed or mobile. Our management
team's unique approach to successfully identify, acquire and
integrate companies allows us to rapidly execute on CounterPath's
strategy and increase shareholder value while establishing
ourselves as a trusted innovator to our growing list of strategic
clients." BridgePort Networks is a leader in providing mobile
convergence enabling IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and pre-IMS
applications for a variety of service providers. The company's
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) open standards-based approach
creates a seamless union between mobile and broadband networks,
allowing users to benefit from numerous advantages such as single
number identity regardless of the network they use. BridgePort's
innovative products include the MobileSTICK(TM) solution which
transforms personal computers into voice, SMS, Multimedia Messaging
Services (MMS) and video terminals for integrated broadband and
mobile carrier services, leveraging standards-based VoIP and SIP
technology. The company's products, which also include the
NomadicONE(TM) Network Convergence Gateway (NCG) and NomadicONE IMS
Convergence Server (ICS), are backed by eighteen patents either
pending or granted. Since 2002, over $50 million has been invested
in the development and initial marketing of BridgePort's
intellectual property assets. Highlights of Benefits for
CounterPath - Immediately enables CounterPath to offer proven
voice, text messaging, multimedia and presence-based applications
between broadband and mobile networks. - Positions CounterPath as a
solutions-based company combining its proprietary softphone
technologies with its core-server technologies. - Expands
CounterPath's pre-IMS and IMS product portfolio to include mobile
products and solutions which have been successfully deployed and
are integrated with the company's existing products. - Broadens
CounterPath's patent portfolio with eighteen additional patents
pending or granted. - Adds engineering personnel with skill sets in
SS7, IMS, SIP and networking who will continue to focus on building
FMC solutions for service providers. For more information, please
visit http://www.sec.gov/. to review the Company's Report on Form
8-K. About CounterPath Since 2003, CounterPath Corporation
(formerly CounterPath Solutions, Inc.) has been creating value for
its clients with the development of innovative multimedia VoIP
(Voice over Internet Protocol) softphones and SIP (Session
Initiation Protocol) applications. CounterPath has a flexible, user
friendly and feature-rich product suite, which enables its clients
to cost-effectively integrate or bundle voice, video, presence and
IM (Instant Messaging) applications into their VoIP solutions. The
Company's clients include some of the world's largest
telecommunications service providers and network equipment
providers including AT&T, BT (British Telecommunications PLC),
Alcatel-Lucent and Cisco Systems. Additional information about
CounterPath and its products and services is available at
http://www.counterpath.com/. Forward-Looking Statements This news
release contains "forward-looking statements". Statements in this
press release, which are not purely historical, are forward-looking
statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans,
expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such
forward-looking statements include, among others, the expectation
and/or claim, as applicable, that (i) after completion of the
acquisition of BridgePort Networks, CounterPath will be firmly
established as an early leader in the growing mobile VoIP solution
space, and (ii) after completion of the acquisition of BridgePort
Networks, CounterPath will be positioned to become an industry
innovation leader for service providers, enterprises, small and
medium businesses and consumers, as the only company offering a
tailored platform that seamlessly bridges voice, text messaging,
multimedia, video and presence-based applications between virtually
any networks, fixed or mobile. It is important to note that actual
outcomes and CounterPath's actual results could differ materially
from those in such forward-looking statements. Actual results could
differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due
to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others: (1) the
failure to complete the acquisition of BridgePort Networks for any
reason whatsoever, (2) the failure to successfully integrate the
businesses and technologies of CounterPath and BridgePort Networks
after completion of the acquisition, (3) the failure to develop new
and innovative products using CounterPath's and BridgePort
Networks' technologies, (4) CounterPath's ability to remain
competitive as other parties develop and release competitive
products, (5) CounterPath's ability to retain the employees
necessary to continue research and development of current and new
products, (6) the success by CounterPath of the sales of its
current and new products, (7) the impact of competitive products on
the sales of CounterPath's products, (8) the impact of technology
changes on CounterPath's products and on the VoIP industry, (9) the
compatibility of CounterPath's products with new computer operating
systems, (10) the rate of adoption by service providers and the
general public of VoIP as a replacement for regular and cellular
phone service, (11) general economic conditions as they affect
CounterPath and its prospective customers, (12) the ability of
CounterPath to control costs operating, general administrative and
other expenses, and (13) insufficient investor interest in
CounterPath's securities which may impact on CounterPath's ability
to raise additional financing as required. Readers should also
refer to the risk disclosures outlined in CounterPath's quarterly
reports on Form 10-QSB, annual reports on Form 10-KSB and
CounterPath's other disclosure documents filed from time-to-time
with the Securities and Exchange Commission available at
http://www.sec.gov/. CONTACT: Media Contact: Sarah Stover, Grey
Vancouver PR, (604) 484-3274, ; Investor Contact: Gina DeBoutez,
The Blueshirt Group, (415) 489-2184, DATASOURCE: CounterPath
Corporation CONTACT: Media Contact: Sarah Stover, Grey Vancouver
PR, (604) 484-3274, ; Investor Contact: Gina DeBoutez, The
Blueshirt Group, (415) 489-2184,
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