Stoke could go for an IPO late in 2012 or early in 2013, as NTT DoCoMo and others boost its revenues

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

August 1, 2011

2 Min Read
Stoke IPO Is a 'Possibility'

Long Term Evolution (LTE) and mobile data off-load startup Stoke Inc. 's CEO says that a public offering for the company is a "possibility" for the company in 2012 or later.

Vikash Varma, president and CEO of Santa Clara, Calif.-based Stoke stresses that the company is focused on building "a solid business" but allowed that an IPO was now among the company's options in a recent conversation with Light Reading Mobile.

"If the right thing to do is to go IPO late next year or early in 2013 then we'll do that," Varma said.

Varma says that the company is currently building on the momentum of mobile data growth on 4G LTE and Wi-Fi off-load. In fact, the company said recently that -- as of June 15 -- sales revenues had surpassed its 2010 total and it anticipates 300 percent growth year-on-year. (See Stoke Sells More eNodeBs.)

Lynch-pin Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo Inc. (NYSE: DCM) is a major Stoke customer but not the only one, according to the CEO. "They're definitely one of the key customers out there for us. We can’t name the others yet," Varma says. (See NTT Docomo Launches LTE Service and BT Checks Out LTE With Stoke .)

Generally, the growth in acceptance in LTE small cells is helping to drive additional interest in Stoke. "Operators are all moving to adoption of small cells," Varma says.

The company, which sells LTE eNodeB aggregation gateways and a mobile data off-load (MDO) application, is promising to expand its line soon with more products that build in this area.

Stoke, which describes itself as a "late-stage startup" closed $17 million in Series E VC funding in January, bringing its total raised to $92 million. "We don't need any more money," Varma tells LR Mobile.

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile

About the Author(s)

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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