Genband Inc. says it has purchased a media gateway product line from Nokia Networks and, as part of that deal, will become the exclusive provider of media gateways to NSN in a five-year OEM (original equipment manufacturer) agreement.

Genband announced today that it purchased the Surpass HiG media gateway product portfolio from Nokia Siemens, and will become exclusive provider of fixed-line trunking media gateways to NSN. So, as it has with other big vendors, Genband has found a way to make sure it is in position to provide the traffic interface between VOIP networks and the PSTN, all while not having a softswitch business that threatens the big guys.

Genband says the reseller agreement will bring immediate top-line growth as it expands the company's reach in Asia/Pacific and Latin America. The deal also helps diversify Genband's revenue base, as it adds yet another channel partner to the mix. The company already counts Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), Nortel Networks Ltd. , and ZTE Corp. (Shenzhen: 000063; Hong Kong: 0763) as resellers. (See AlcaLu, Genband Cozy Up, Nortel Resells Genband Gateways, and Nortel, Genband in VOIP Play .)

While Genband has a pretty diverse group of global resellers, Alcatel-Lucent makes up approximately 40 percent to 45 percent of the company's sales today, according to chief marketing officer Mehmet Balos. AlcaLu is a Genband investor and also holds a board seat. (See Alcatel Reins In General Bandwidth and Alcatel Salutes General Bandwidth.)

The asset transfer comes as Genband continues to expand its portfolio of media gateway products. The HiG deal is Genband's fifth purchase in just the last few years. In a little more than 24 months, the company has acquired product lines and technologies from BayPackets, Syndeo, Siemens AG (NYSE: SI; Frankfurt: SIE), and Tekelec . (See Genband Takes Tekelec Switch Biz, Genband Splashes Out for BayPackets, Genband Eyes Cable IMS Play , Genband on the Run, and GenBand Buys Siemens Unit.)

The result of that activity has been a company that has grown from a single-product specialist to a media gateway supershop. Genband will get a research and development center in Brazil as part of its NSN HiG acquisition. That will add 60 employees to Genband, giving the company more than 500 worldwide.

— Ryan Lawler, Reporter, Light Reading