Sonus had not recorded any product revenue when it filed to go public. The Westford, Massachusetts company was barely two years old. It built switching gear that let phone carriers move voice calls over packet networks, the same kind of network that carried the internet, instead of the old circuit-switched phone system. In May 2000, telecom spending was near its peak, and carriers were buying anything that promised cheaper, faster networks.

Two Founders, One Switch

Rubin Gruber and Michael Hluchyj founded Sonus in August 1997, and operations started that November after its first funding. Hassan Ahmed became CEO. Its products included the GSX9000 Open Services Switch and the PSX6000 SoftSwitch. Earlier voice-over-internet gear had fallen short on quality and reliability. Sonus aimed to match the toll quality of the phone network, then beat it on cost. Its pitch to carriers was an open system that could add new services fast.

From Bubble to Ribbon

Sonus priced its IPO at $23 a share in May 2000 and listed on Nasdaq. Weeks later, the telecom market began to collapse, and carriers cut their spending. Sonus survived the bust and kept selling to phone companies and large enterprises for nearly two decades. In 2017, Sonus merged with GENBAND, another network equipment company. The combined business took the name Ribbon Communications, and Sonus stock was delisted in October 2017.

Cover: The Baker Sounding His Horn, Adriaen van Ostade. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a baker sounding his horn (sound carried far).