MWJ: We noticed that Tatara raised $8M of
funding recently. What’s going on at Tatara?
DC: Our venture capital investors, Highland
Capital and North Bridge Ventures are
excited about the emerging femtocell market
and Tatara’s early leadership position in
the market, as the first vendor to announce
an all-IP solution for femtocell
convergence, introducing the industry’s
first femtocell-focused fixed-mobile
convergence application server.
MWJ: What is a femtocell?
DC: A femtocell access point, also known as
a 3G access point, is a low-cost, low-power
cellular base station that provides improved
indoor coverage while backhauling the
cellular traffic over a broadband
connection. Femtocells are designed to work
with existing mobile handsets and can
support multiple users in a home
environment., Femtocells over the long-term
also present an opportunity to develop new
mobile services for the home that take
advantage of low-cost, high-speed internet
access.
MWJ: Does Tatara develop the femtocell?
DC: No. We don’t develop the femtocell.
Tatara Systems invents, develops, and
deploys mobile convergence products for
service providers, allowing them to offer
converged mobile services to their
subscribers across the widest base of
available end-user devices. The Tatara Convergence Server enables
femtocells to backhaul cellular traffic over
a broadband connection using SIP signaling,
with a key advantage of this approach being
ready integration with the operator’s IP
services infrastructure.
MWJ: Is Tatara Systems a new player in the
Fixed Mobile Convergence market?
DC: Since 2001 Tatara has built products for
the mobile convergence market. These
products provide seamless insertion into
existing networks and ensure investment
protection as next generation networks
continue to evolve. Mobile operators are now
showing intense interest in femtocells, as
they seek ways to expand network coverage,
capacity, and security so we are well
positioned for the next generation of
fixed-mobile convergence innovation.
MWC: What is the reaction of the employees
towards this new technology strategy?
DC: Our staff is pumped! They believe that femtocell is a better fixed mobile
convergence strategy for mobile operators
than dual-mode handsets. Tatara’s solutions
solve key network challenges that will allow
mobile operators to realize the value of
femtocells.
MWJ: What techniques does your company use
to attract and retain employees?
DC: Tatara is an attractive company because
we are a start-up working in an exciting
space. The Tatara product portfolio contains
significant IPR with multiple patents based
on years of engineering effort. Aligned with
IMS, Tatara’s products are designed and
proven to be deployable NOW in today’s
networks with seamless migration to full IMS
in the future. This cutting edge technology
and innovative culture is what retains
current employees and also attracts
candidates.
MWJ: What do you look for in an ideal
candidate?
DC: We look at technical strength,
flexibility and teamwork. All of our
positions require in-depth knowledge of
Fixed-Mobile Convergence (UMA or femtocell),
IMS, signaling protocols and wireless
standards CDMA, GSM, GPRS/3G. When you are
developing a solution for a disruptive
technology like femtocell access,
individuals need to be flexible and nimble.
We are looking for self-motivated people who
are passionate about working in an
innovative, fast-paced, start-up
environment. And it doesn’t hurt to be a good basketball
player! Many of our staff go out to the
basketball court at lunchtime, or they work
out in our fully equipped gym.
MWJ: What is your staffing plan this
quarter?
DC: We have several available positions,
including: A Consulting Systems Engineer who will
deploy and manage testing in mobile
operators’ core network is our top priority.
This individual will travel to carriers in
Europe and US for acceptance testing and
integration of trial and production systems.
A Solutions Architect and Senior Product
Manager who will provide strategic market
direction and customer requirements for our
Development efforts, and a UK based Sales
and pre-Sales Engineer to provide additional
European-based presence for business
development.
MWJ: Thanks for the information!
DC: Thank you. All of us are excited about
this emerging, new market!
MobileContent
Careers is the monthly eNewsletter of MobileWirelessJobs. Each issue contains one
or more HR interviews of the top employers
in the mobile content and wireless
industries. These interviews help our
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listed on MobileWirelessJobs beyond what can
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