For information, contact:
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Merrill Freund (415) 512-0770 stoke@schwartz-pr.com |
Kristen Horan (415) 512-0770 stoke@schwartz-pr.com |
Low Power, Multi-Function Platform Adds RoHS Certification to Further Help Network Operators Meet New Environmental Mandates
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - March 17, 2008 - Stoke, Inc., a leading developer of multi-access convergence gateways for network operators, today announced the completion of RoHS certification for the Stoke Session Exchange (SSX). This significant achievement, coupled with additional environmental benefits such as compact form factor, low power consumption, and multi-function capabilities make the SSX an ideal platform for carriers as they launch network-oriented environmental initiatives.
"It's interesting that we spend so much time optimizing the power consumption of mobile devices, but fail to devote the same attention to the energy demands of mobile infrastructure," said Craig Mathias, a principal with the wireless and mobile advisory firm Farpoint Group. "The re-tooling of carrier networks for convergence and 4G presents an excellent opportunity to address both the environmental and financial costs associated with consuming more power than is necessary. Stoke is to be commended for taking a leadership position on this issue, and their SSX line should offer significant value to both network operators and the planet at large."
The RoHS Directive stands for the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. This Directive bans the placing on the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants.
In addition to meeting key environmental benchmarks such as RoHS certification, operators must also consider equipment standards that lower power consumption. Research suggests the aggregate power consumption of networking equipment will skyrocket in the coming years as carriers are forced to deploy power-hungry infrastructure such as routers and other appliances to support the torrid growth of video traffic and the uptake of mobile broadband. Now, in addition to evaluating networking equipment on performance, capital costs and operational costs, carriers must include environmental considerations. While the high performance, multi-function SSX offers network operators a technically and economically superior choice for many edge networking applications, it also offers a number of significant environmental advantages over legacy systems, including:
- RoHS compliance - The SSX is in full compliance with the European Union (EU) directive on hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment;
- High performance, low power - The SSX delivers high performance multi-access gateway capabilities at 1/6 the power consumption of existing solutions;
- Small form factor, lots of subscribers - With support for hundreds of thousands of subscribers in five rack units (RUs) the SSX is extremely space efficient;
- Multi-function - The SSX consolidates multiple network functions and appliances into a single system, significantly reducing the number of devices deployed at the carrier edge. In common deployment scenarios a single SSX can replace three or four disparate devices, lowering cost and complexity while lowering latency and increasing application performance.
"As network operators prepare to quickly build out their network edge to capitalize on the fast growing market opportunity for 'anywhere' services, new challenges such as energy consumption and environmental compliance requirements are making the task even more complex." said Keith Higgins, vice president of marketing, Stoke. "With our SSX, operators can build out their network with best-in-class technology while also contributing to the achievement of significant new environmental mandates."
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. For more information, visit www.stoke.com.