Veraz Networks sold gear that squeezed voice calls into less bandwidth, and carriers in emerging markets prized it. Its switches, media gateways and voice compression products let phone companies carry calls over internet networks, cutting costs and adding services. Most of its customers were carriers outside the United States. In 2007 carriers worldwide were in the middle of this long shift. Few consumers knew the Veraz name.

Saving Scarce Bandwidth

Veraz bet that telephone carriers would replace their old circuit switches with software-based equipment for internet calling. It paired that switching gear with voice compression technology, which fit more calls into the same lines. Carriers in emerging markets valued it because bandwidth there was costly. The company had close ties to ECI Telecom, which owned a large stake. Its main rivals were much larger equipment makers.

Merged Into Dialogic

Veraz priced its IPO at $8 a share in April 2007 on the Nasdaq, below its planned range of $10 to $12. ECI sold part of its stake in the offering. Competition from larger equipment makers and the 2008 downturn hurt sales. In 2010 Veraz merged with Dialogic, a communications technology company. The deal was in effect a reverse acquisition: Dialogic's owners held most of the combined company, which took the Dialogic name.

Cover: Field Telegraph, Battery Wagon, David Knox. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a field telegraph wagon (the voice network).