UTStarcom Holdings Stock

UTStarcom Holdings Corp. (UTStarcom) provides telecommunication network products, solutions and services.

As a global telecom infrastructure provider, the company focuses on delivering innovative carrier-class packet optical, network synchronization and broadband access (both wireless and fixed line) products and solutions, coupled with Software Defined Networking (SDN) platform, optimized for mobile backhaul, metro aggregation, broadband access and value added services.

The company's networking technologies enable access, aggregation and transports of high-speed data, voice and video. The product lines include Converged Packet Transport (CPT), Disaggregated Router Platform, Packet Transport Network (PTN), Packet Aggregation Network (PAN), Wireline Broadband Access, including Multi-Services Access Network (MSAN) and Fiber To The X (FTTx), Carrier Wi-Fi solution and SDN controller.

UTStarcom is actively involved in new products and solutions developments in several key target areas, including 5G mobile transport networks, disaggregated network platforms optimized for telecom market applications and requirements, and network synchronization. The new products and solutions utilize the experience and knowledge that the company has accumulated over the years in its key areas of expertise, including optical communications, broadband access technologies, as well as hardware and software design. As a part of the company's efforts to support its customers on all stages of network planning, deployment and operation, the company provides full range of pre- and post-sale services, including turn-key deployments as may be required by its customers.

SkyFlux CPT Platform

The SkyFlux CPT is the company's next-generation communications platform that enables carriers to effectively manage the network resources and meet complex requirements of 5G mobile systems, as well as of various other traditional and emerging applications by ensuring high performance, flexibility and efficiency. The SkyFlux platform combines Segment Routing over MPLS (SR-MPLS) and MPLS-TP tunneling, TDM-like Ethernet based on FlexE/G.mtn, highly accurate time synchronization and SDN-based network intelligence into an efficient future-proof packet transport network. The platform provides support of high-speed interfaces up to 100GE/200GE/400GE, high port density, wide range of services, including L2/L3VPN, and full set of carrier-class features: sub-50ms protection, OAM, QoS, hardware redundancy.

The platform was formally launched in 2020, and 2 products have been already released: SkyFlux SPN803S and SkyFlux SPN805S. Both products offer high switching capacity, support of all advanced features of the CPT platform, including SR, FlexE, network slicing, highly accurate synchronization. The products are suitable for 300mm depth rack installation common in networks of mobile operators. The SkyFlux SPN805S - a modular 5RU chassis-based platform optimized for high-capacity access and aggregation applications. The product offers 640Gbps switching capacity, 1GE/10GE/25GE/50GE/100GE interfaces, and full hardware redundancy for key components. The SkyFlux SPN803S is a compact modular 2RU chassis with power supply redundancy and 320Gbps switching capacity designed for high-capacity access applications.

The SkyFlux CPT platform successfully passed a complex and comprehensive set of tests and was approved for use on 5G mobile network of one of the major mobile operators in China. The company is working with its customers and partners on further promotion of this platform.

SkyFlux Disaggregated Network Solution

The company leverages its expertise in telecom networks and carrier grade hardware and software design to answer growing market demand for higher openness, flexibility and improved cost-efficiency of telecom network infrastructure through the use of network disaggregation concept. UTStarcom develops its own disaggregated network platform and provides disaggregated network products development and integration services to its customers (including major telecom network operators).

In 2022, UTStarcom released its newest SkyFlux UAR Disaggregated Router platform that combines the strengths, flexibility, and low TCO benefits of modular chassis-based hardware platforms with all the advantages of the software-centric network disaggregation paradigm. The SkyFlux UAR Disaggregated Router platform is based on IP-MPLS and Segment Routing technologies with multiple advanced features (such as SR-MPLS, L2VPN/L3VPN/EVPN, OAM, protection, telemetry, IEEE1588v2 PTP, SyncE, QoS/H-QoS, etc.) adopted for the target applications, including 5G transport network and others. The initial release of the platform included 3 chassis-based modular disaggregated routers (SkyFlux UAR400A-04X, SkyFlux UAR500A-08X, and SkyFlux UAR500B-12X) and the SkyFlux NOS Network Operating System. The SkyFlux UAR Disaggregated Router platform components can be integrated to work together and provided as a pre-integrated solution, or can be used separately for integration with compatible third party commercial or open-source components. While 5G/4G midhaul and backhaul are the primary targets application for the platform, it has a wider potential and can be efficiently applied to other applications and market segments, including broadband aggregation, metro access and aggregation networks, and others.

In 2022, UTStarcom continued working with China Unicom Research Institute, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Unicom, one of the major mobile network operators (MNO) in China, on the cooperative development and field testing of an open and disaggregated network platform that is primarily intended to be used as a carrier-grade networking platform for the access segment of 5G transport network of China Unicom, which operates as IP RAN transport based on Segment Routing technology. The NOS is designed to ensure openness and prevent vendor lock-in, supporting a variety of hardware implementations that can be based on certain Broadcom DNX series and Centec switching chips, Intel x86 and ARM CPU, non-redundant pizza-box, as well as redundant chassis platforms.

The company also continued its collaboration with Guangdong Research Institute of China Telecom Co., Ltd., the professional technology research institution of China Telecom, one of the major telecom network operators in China, on the development of a disaggregated platform for 5G transport network of China Telecom, including the development of a chassis-based modular redundant disaggregated hardware platform based on the Intel x86 CPU and Broadcom DNX-series switch chip, implementation of hardware drivers and APIs, integration of ONIE (Open Network Install Environment) into the platform, and integration of certain UTStarcom software modules into the customer's NOS.

SDN Platform

UTStarcom offers a suite of products based on SDN technology combined in a SOOTM Network (Software-defined Open Packet Optical) solution, which answers the needs of telecom operators for the next generation intelligent network, helping them to reduce capital expenditures and operating expenses, while enhancing overall network performance, availability and bandwidth efficiency and improving the customer experience. With SOO network operators gain unprecedented programmability, automation, and network control, which enables them to build highly scalable, flexible networks that readily adapt to changing business needs.

The solution successfully passed Proof of Concept (PoC) testing with major Tier-1 operators in Tokyo in 2015.

Along with the release of the new SkyFlux CPT platform in 2020, the company released a new version 3.2 of the SOO Station SDN Controller tightly coupled with the SkyFlux CPT platform and enhanced with the support of Segment Routing (SR), advanced Path Calculation Engine (PCE), Network Slicing and a number of advanced features. Used together with SkyFlux CPT, the solution creates an efficient networking platform optimized for the variety of modern applications, including 5G midhaul and backhaul, edge data center/MEC interconnect networks, next generation metro aggregation. The SOO Station SDN Controller was tested together with SkyFlux CPT platform by one of the major mobile operators in China and approved for use on its 5G transport network.

In parallel, the company continues the development and optimization of the SOO Station platform for use with its SkyFlux UAR & NOS Disaggregated Router platform and its intended applications. This platform is planned for release in 2023.

Packet Optical Products

PTN product line is represented by NetRing Transport Network (NetRing TN) Series products that are based on the Multi-Protocol Label Switch Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) and Carrier Ethernet (CE) technologies. This product line combines packet switch/forwarding, packet optical transport and time/clock synchronization technologies to meet customers' metro networking requirements. Large volumes of NetRing TN products have been deployed worldwide since their launch.

The Next Generation Packet Transport Network (NG-PTN) portfolio offers some important improvements, including highly efficient hardware and software architecture, high port density, high speed interfaces up to 100GE, low power consumption and overall capital and operating expense savings. This includes orders that the company received for the latest NetRing TN704E, as well as expansion orders for TN705E, supplied for the 4G/5G network expansion of its customer in Europe. The company expects extension orders of its NG-PTN products from its customers in 2023 and 2024.

The platforms and networks deployed by the company's customers are in active use and operation. The company continues providing support to them and expects renewal of annual maintenance contracts in 2023.

Network Synchronization

The SyncRing product family was specifically designed for highly accurate time and frequency synchronization over packet switched network based on PTP (IEEE1588v2) and Synchronous Ethernet technologies. The product family includes XGM Series grand master devices and XBC Series boundary clock switches centrally managed by the company's proven OMC-O NMS network management platform. The SyncRing solution is designed for the cluster distributed timing architecture, and is mainly aimed at mobile network operators due to its ability to meet the stringent synchronization accuracy requirements of LTE/LTE-A and 5G networks.

The SyncRing product portfolio includes SyncRing XGM Series outdoor Grand Master products XGM20 (PRTC-A class T-GM) and XGM30 (PRTC-B class T-GM), and SyncRing XBC Series Boundary Clocks XBC510 (T-BC Class A) and XBC340/XBC341 (T-BC Class B, Power over Ethernet POE support), and provides an excellent network clock and time synchronization solution for 4G/5G deployments.

The SyncRing solution has been deployed in the LTE mobile network of one of the largest Mobile network operators (MNO) in Japan since 2017 with multiple expansion orders and volume shipments of SyncRing products to the company's customer in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, the company continued supporting the customer with shipments of spare parts orders. Following the global launch of 5G technology and start of 5G networks rollout, the company expects further orders of the 5G-ready XGM30 Grand Masters and XBC340/ XBC341 Boundary Clocks switches. The company is also pro-actively exploring China market for new customers and related opportunities presented by fast rollout of 5G networks in this market.

Broadband Access

MSAN offers a wide range of services over copper twisted pair and optical fiber, including IPTV, High-Speed Internet Access, POTS, VoIP. UTStarcom's iAN Multimedia Network Edge is a leading MSAN platform with accumulated over 40 million lines installed worldwide. The latest iAN platform-iAN1200 series MSAN portfolio accommodates carrier-grade broadband access, telephony and data service, and supports a range of technologies, such as POTS, ADSL/ADSL2/ADSL2+, VDSL2, SHDSL (EFM), which allows service providers to serve highly interactive and bandwidth intensive applications. The MSAN B1200 product line includes several products of different capacity that act as a traditional TDM based DLC, IPDSLAM, Media Gateway platform integrated into a single device and supports seamless migration from V5/AN to VoIP/AG and IMS Access. The MSAN B1200 Series products were widely deployed and expanded since 2015 with shipments accumulating to over 5 million ports.

Carrier Wi-Fi product line includes a complete carrier-grade solution for a managed wireless access network: Wireless Access Controllers, Network Management System, and Wi-Fi Access Points (AP) for carrier and MSO markets and various deployment scenarios. The company has successfully deployed Carrier Wi-Fi solutions since 2013 in its key target markets.

Another integral part of the company's Wireline Broadband Access portfolio - GPON FTTx represented by a range of OLT and ONT products designed for delivery of high-speed voice, data and video services to residential and business subscribers.

The company continues providing support and maintenance services to its customers that use its broadband solutions.

The company's Broadband Core solutions, such as IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) and SSTP (Signaling Transfer Point) are deployed as a part of operators' broadband core and enable them to provide a number of services to their end customers, as well as to monetize their broadband network infrastructure. The deployed platforms are in active use by the company's customers, it received multiple expansion orders for IMS in 2022, and it expects to receive further expansion orders in 2023 to meet operators' needs for increasing broadband customers' demands.

The company continues providing support and maintenance services to its customers that use its broadband solutions.

Enterprise Solutions Sales Initiative

In 2022, the company established a domestic enterprise sales team to focus on market opportunities related to Smart Cities and Digital Construction in China. The company is actively exploring the market and related opportunities, it has several projects in process that it expects to result in orders in 2023 and beyond.

Markets and Customers

The company's products and services are used primarily in Asia. The company's key target geographical markets for the deployment of its broadband infrastructure products are India, Japan, and China.

Sales, Marketing and Customer Support

The company pursues a direct sales and marketing strategy in Japan, India, China and South Asia, targeting sales to telecommunications operators and equipment distributors with closely associated customers. The company maintains sales and customer support sites in China, Japan and India. The company's customer service operations in Hangzhou and Chengdu China, serve as both a technical resources and liaisons to its product development organization.

Competition

The company's specific competitors in broadband infrastructure market include Cisco, Juniper, Nokia, Ciena, Huawei Technologies, and ZTE.

Seasonality

Although the company experiences some seasonality typical of the telecommunications industry, its revenues and earnings have not demonstrated consistent seasonal characteristics. In contrast, the company's results of operation are generally impacted more significantly by factors, such as customer concentration and the timing of revenue recognition.

Research and Development

For the year ended December 31, 2022, the company's research and development expenses were $4.8 million.

History

UTStarcom Holdings Corp., a Cayman Islands corporation, was founded in 1991. The company was incorporated in 2011.