iBasis

Private
Industry Telecommunications
Founded 1996
Founder Ofer Gneezy and Gordon VanderBrug
Headquarters Lexington, Massachusetts
Services International Voice Services, Value-added Mobile Data Services
Revenue 1.2 Billion USD (2010)
Number of employees
 370 (2008)
Parent KPN N.V.
Website www.ibasis.com

Based in Lexington, Massachusetts, iBasis is a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal KPN, N.V., the Dutch incumbent telecommunications carrier. iBasis is a wholesale carrier of international long distance telephone calls, with enhanced services for mobile operators, and a provider of retail prepaid calling services. In Fiscal Year 2010, iBasis had total revenues of $1.2 billion, carried approximately 24 billion minutes of international voice traffic, and employed approximately 370 people.[1]

More than 1,000 mobile and fixed line telecommunications carriers and service providers worldwide outsource some or all of their international voice traffic to iBasis. It is one of the largest carriers of international voice traffic in the world.[2] iBasis customers include many of the world’s largest carriers, mobile operators, and emerging service providers including Verizon, Vodafone, VSNL, China Mobile, China Unicom, IDT, Qwest, Skype, Telecom Italia, and Telefonica.[3]

The company also offers online pre-paid international calling services to business and consumer customers through a product called Pingo.

History

iBasis was founded in 1996 by Ofer Gneezy and Gordon VanderBrug to provide wholesale international long distance services to carriers using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. It held an initial public offering in November 1999 and was ranked the No. 1 fastest growing company in New England for 2000, 2001 and 2002 by Deloitte & Touche.[4]

In October 2007, iBasis acquired KPN Global Carrier Services, the international voice business of KPN, the national carrier of the Netherlands.[5] KPN became a majority stockholder of iBasis as part of the transaction. The combined entity carried nearly 24 billion minutes of international voice traffic in 2007.[6]

According to international telecom research firm TeleGeography, that resulting traffic made the new iBasis one of the three largest carriers of international voice traffic in the world, handling a volume roughly equal to AT&T’s international voice traffic and behind worldwide leader Verizon.

In April 2008, iBasis also acquired the international wholesale voice business of TDC A/S, a Danish carrier, for $10 million cash, which added 2 billion minutes of annual traffic and was estimated to increase annual revenues by $80 million.[7] The company plans to pursue similar deals as part of its ongoing growth strategy.

On December 21, 2009 iBasis became a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal KPN N.V. (NYSE: KPN), the national carrier of the Netherlands and a leading provider of fixed, mobile, and enterprise communications solutions in Europe. iBasis is no longer a publicly traded company.[8]

Network and Technology

The iBasis Network includes one of the largest international VoIP networks in the world with more than 1,000 points of presence in over 100 countries. iBasis uses technology from Cisco Systems and GenBand (formerly NextPoint and NexTone) and has developed its own patented monitoring and route quality management technology to determine and select the best available route for every call. The company has introduced technological advancements and has been enlisted to support industry initiatives including testing the GSM Association’s IP eXchange, which is being developed as a global IP backbone for fixed and mobile service providers.[9]

References

  1. ↑ KPN Investor Relations http://www.kpn.com/corporate/aboutkpn/investor-relations/results-2010-q4.htm
  2. ↑ Telephony, “iBasis claims No. 2 spot in global voice traffic”, Oct. 1, 2007, http://telephonyonline.com/home/news/ibasis_voip_international_100107
  3. ↑ iBasis 2007 10-K Filing, March 17, 2008, http://ccbn.10kwizard.com/xml/download.php?repo=tenk&ipage=5536840&format=RTF
  4. ↑ BNET, “iBasis Named Fastest Growing Technology Company in New England,” Sept. 23, 2002, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2002_Sept_23/ai_91910609
  5. ↑ Boston Globe, “iBasis Deal is Completed”, Oct. 1, 2007, http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2007/10/ibasis_deal_is.html
  6. ↑ iBasis 2007 10-K Filing, March 17, 2008, http://ccbn.10kwizard.com/xml/download.php?repo=tenk&ipage=5536840&format=RTF
  7. ↑ Light Reading, “iBasis Snacks on Danish”, January 16, 2008, http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=143422&f_src=lightreading_gnews
  8. ↑ http://www.ibasis.com/about-us/investors.aspx
  9. ↑ TMCnet, “iBasis Performs GSMA Trial of IPX Interconnect Service and Standards,” February 12, 2008, http://www.tmcnet.com/comsol/articles/20632-ibasis-performs-gsma-trial-ipx-interconnect-service-standards.htm
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