UTStarcom Inc. (Nasdaq: UTSI) confirmed today that it recently bought two startups in order to give it new technology that its customers need.

The first acquisition was a development-stage company called RollingStreams Systems. The company makes a media switch, a gateway that allows for deliver of TV-quality video streams over an IP network, according to an UTStarcom spokesperson.

Xebeo Communications Inc. was the other startup purchase. Xebeo was building an optical packet switch for metro networks that could classify, queue, shape, and police traffic at very high speeds. By doing a "deep read" of packets that enter and leave networks, Xebeo's switch is able to allow carriers to charge for different classes of data services (see Xebeo to Build a Service-Aware Switch).

Xebeo was known to be having a tough time financially. When last covered by Light Reading, the company said it was hunting for more funding and shopping itself to public companies (see Headcount: Meet My Shareholders?).

It's not clear yet what UTStarcom intends to do with the technology it has bought -- whether it will rebrand already built products or take the technology and do something different. Deal details, including the size of each transaction, were not available at press time.

— Phil Harvey, Senior Editor, Light Reading