Every time an internet phone call crossed from one network into another, it needed a guard at the border. Acme Packet made those guards. Its session border controllers sat at the edges of carrier and enterprise networks. They connected voice and video calls, enforced security and kept quality high. In 2006 telephone companies were moving their networks onto internet technology. Its main customers were telephone carriers and cable operators.

Built for One Job

Andy Ory and Patrick MeLampy had worked together at earlier networking companies. They founded Acme Packet in 2000. Their bet was that internet calling would need a dedicated device at each network border, and that carriers would pay for one built for the job. Early relationships with major carriers set up rapid growth. Acme Packet became the leader in a category it had defined.

Oracle's Communications Base

Acme Packet priced its IPO at $9.50 a share in October 2006 on the Nasdaq. It was profitable and grew quickly as carriers and large businesses adopted internet calling. In 2013 Oracle bought Acme Packet for about $2.1 billion. Oracle made the business the base of its communications unit, selling the same products to carriers and large enterprises. Those products remain in use in many carrier networks.

Cover: Mountain Peaks, Donald Shaw MacLaughlan. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for mountain peaks (the acme).