U4EA

U4EA Technologies, founded in 1999, operated in the telecommunications sector, specializing in network hardware for unified communications. The company is now considered deadpooled. It secured a total of $30M in funding over one round. A significant milestone was the acquisition of NextHop Technologies in May 2008, a software provider for WiFi access points and controllers. This acquisition followed a new funding round and the appointment of a new CEO in the summer of 2007. U4EA also acquired J6 Technology, an Irish developer of telecommunications network signaling gateway software, at the end of 2007.

The company's business focused on providing multi-service business gateways that enabled service providers to deploy integrated IP communications solutions to small to medium-sized business (SMB) and enterprise customers. The business model centered on selling hardware and software solutions that consolidated various network functions into single devices, thereby reducing complexity and cost for their clients. These all-in-one customer premises devices were designed for the secure and reliable delivery of converged VoIP, data, and video services.

U4EA's product portfolio included the Fusion Series of multi-service business gateways (MSBGs), which eliminated the need for separate routers, firewalls, Ethernet switches, and SIP session controllers. The Fusion series ranged from the Fusion 200 for small businesses supporting up to 30 calls, to the Fusion 500 for medium enterprises handling up to 250 calls. These gateways provided firewall, NAT, VPN support, and various WAN interface options like T1/E1, DSL, and Ethernet. A key feature was the company's proprietary Quality of Service (QoS) mechanism, branded as 'Guarantee of Service' (GoS), which was designed to ensure service quality for voice, data, and video applications over a single access link. In addition to gateways, U4EA Wireless offered solutions like the Fusion 300 WLAN Controller and Fusion access points (Fusion 50, 70) specifically for the SMB mobility market, aiming to simplify the deployment of secure Wi-Fi for voice and data applications.

Keywords: U4EA Technologies, multi-service business gateways, IP communications, SMB networking, enterprise networking, VoIP gateways, unified communications, network hardware, QoS, Guarantee of Service, Fusion Series, network signaling gateways, WLAN controller, Wi-Fi mobility, NextHop Technologies, J6 Technology, telecom hardware