Stoke, Inc., a leading developer of multi-access convergence gateways for network operators, today announced the opening of its subsidiary Stoke Networks Private Limited, and the appointment of Ashim Roy as India Country Head. This expansion builds on Stoke’s recent momentum in India with an investment from Reliance Technology Ventures Limited (RTVL), which is associated with Reliance Communications, one of the fastest growing telecommunications companies in India. India is one of the most rapidly developing markets in the world. Stoke will leverage its new presence to expand global development capabilities, and provide local support to network operators in the region. Stoke India will be located in Bangalore.
“Given the enormous global business opportunities for Stoke products, building upon our existing presence in India is imperative for our growth and aligns with our strategic relationship with Reliance,” said Stoke President and CEO Vikash Varma. “Ashim Roy has extensive experience in the telecommunications industry and proven leadership in the region. We’re excited to have him join the Stoke team to help accelerate our momentum.”
Gartner forecasts that the global telecommunications market will remain the single largest segment by revenues of the global information technology market, and that rising demand in emerging economies like Asia will be a major contributor to this growth. FMC in particular is expected to create a market worth more than $46 billion by 2010 (Infonetics Research). To capitalize on this market opportunity, operators must reduce the number of discreet devices required at the network edge to lower costs and simplify the rapid transformation required to enable the mobile Internet.
The Stoke Session Exchange (SSX) is the only product of its kind purpose-built to perform converged, multimedia IP session management and mobility across multiple access technologies – including fixed, cellular, Wi-Fi and WiMAX. Stoke’s revolutionary session management suite – integrated with and powered by contemporary, high performance hardware – delivers an unprecedented combination of security, application control, mobility and charging capabilities. With its expansion into India, Stoke will provide optimal support for its Asian operator base while driving development on a global scale.
“It is an exciting time to be joining the company,” said Ashim Roy, Country Head for Stoke’s operations in India. “Stoke’s multi-access solution is enabling operators worldwide to realize the economic benefits and competitive advantages of network convergence. Our new office in Bangalore will tap local talent to contribute to the company’s continued growth and innovation. I look forward to leading this effort.”
About Ashim Roy
Prior to Stoke, Dr. Roy held senior management positions at several technology startups such as Comat Technologies, Integrated Telecom Technologies (PMC-Sierra) and global IT companies including Hughes Network Systems and Nortel. His professional career spans Australia, Canada and USA. He has more than 20 years of product life-cycle development experience in telecommunications technologies including satellite communications, wireline and wireless networks. He has worked with ATM, VoIP, Wi-Fi, CDMA and GSM networks and managed operational issues in complex network roll out. Dr. Roy combines technical expertise with strong performances in the product management and marketing of advance technology solutions. After completion of doctoral thesis in communications engineering (RFID), he has published more than a dozen papers and has several patents.
About Stoke, Inc.
Santa Clara, CA-based Stoke develops carrier-class multi-access convergence gateways specifically engineered to help fixed, mobile and Internet-based operators realize the economic benefits and competitive advantages of network convergence. Stoke's standards-based, integrated hardware and software platform - the Stoke Session Exchange (SSX) - uniquely addresses the security, quality of service and mobility challenges associated with optimizing subscribers' multimedia sessions across fixed, mobile, Wi-Fi and WiMAX networks. Stoke has received more than $50 million in funding from leading venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital, DAG Ventures and RTVL among others.