January 8, 2007

JDSU Scoops Up Casabyte

By Mike Robuck

The much-ballyhooed quad play seems to be heating up this year. Last week JDSU announced it had nabbed Casabyte, which provides service quality monitoring for mobile network operators, for an undisclosed sum.

Casabyte's customer base includes major tier 1 operators. Its quality of service (QoS) test solutions enable operators to deliver their bandwidth-intensive multimedia over fixed-mobile networks by helping them identify, troubleshoot and prevent network degradation that can impair voice, data, video and mobile service quality.

Casabyte will be rolled into JDSU's Communications Test and Measurement division and will benefit from JDSU's base within the cable industry. Cable's joint venture with Sprint/Nextel could also benefit from the acquisition as cable operators look to move their content onto mobile wireless devices.

"One of the benefits of the agreement is that Casabyte will gain from our strong position with MSOs and telecom network operators and our global market position," said JDSU spokesman Bernie Tylor. "We expect to expand Casabyte's market penetration beyond North America - where they have been focused - to markets worldwide through our exceptional global sales and support organization, as well as into markets, such as the cable market, where we have a major presence."

According to OSS Observer, an industry research firm specializing in telecom software market analysis, the mobile probe test system market addressed by Casabyte will grow 12 to 14 percent annually over the next five years.

"JDSU has a leading position in the residential broadband market," said Patrick Kelly, founder and analyst at OSS Observer, in a press release. "Casabyte's solutions should help JDSU provide a broader offering of products to support customers deploying fixed-mobile networks and services. Casabyte's product set is very complementary with JDSU's NetComplete service assurance product portfolio."
 
Casabyte's products include the RCATS (Remote Cellular Automated Test System) platform and a managed wireless test platform known as RoamerNet.

Headend to handset test

"The convergence of fixed-mobile networks and services requires communications test solutions for any service at any point in the network - from the headend to the handset," said John Peeler, president of JDSU's Communications Test and Measurement division. "With the addition of Casabyte's product portfolio, JDSU offers the industry's broadest set of service assurance solutions for the deployment of 'quad-play' broadband services for consumers and businesses."

- Mike Robuck