Stoke has secured another mobile security contract in Japan, this time with operator SoftBank Mobile.

Stoke Inc. , through a partnership with Macnica Networks Corp. , has struck a deal to supply SoftBank Mobile Corp. in Japan with mobile security gateways. Stoke is already supplying its LTE Security eXchange gateways to NTT DoCoMo Inc. (NYSE: DCM). (See Stoke Boosts LTE Security Gateway Performance.)

The gateways are "a replacement for existing equipment" from another supplier, according to Dan McBride, director of product marketing at Stoke.

He couldn't supply many details on how SoftBank will use the gateways because the carrier has requested that such details should not be made public. "It is involved with their small cell network," McBride allows.

It is not yet clear if SoftBank's choice of gateways in Japan could influence vendor selection processes elsewhere, now that SoftBank has closed its acquisition of Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) in the US. "One can only hope," says McBride. (See Softbank Closes on Sprint Acquisition.)

The nine-year-old private company is now pushing forward to try and win contracts in Western Europe. McBride is hoping to unveil two customers in the near to medium term.

In the past, Stoke and BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA) have undertaken LTE tests. (See Stoke & BT Test LTE.)

— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading