A VoIP IPO That Actually Makes Sense

As the pointless Vonage IPO goes south, there's a little-known, sleeper VoIP IPO on the horizon that actually makes sense. Acme Packet make an important component of VoIP networks, and the company has just filed an S-1 in preparation to go public. This one is worth watching. Acme Packet makes Session Border Controllers (SBCs), which are used in VoIP networks to control signaling and media streams used in establishing, conducting, and tearing down calls.

The company doesn't have the market to itself, of course, and competitors include Juniper Networks and many others. But it's got plenty of customers among large mobile carriers including Italtel, T-Com, KDDI and Vodafone Spain. And Alcatel is a big buyer as well.

Acme Packet has a good pedigree, and has already raised $45 million from the venture capital companies Menlo Ventures, Cannan Partners, and Advanced Technology Partners.

I believe the Acme Packet IPO will be one more example of the companies that make the plumbing making all the money. Think of all the Internet high-flyers that are now mere memories. Pets.com anyone? But Cisco is still with us, and raking in the money.

No IPO is guaranteed, of course. But this upcoming IPO is no Vonage fiasco -- there's really something here.