An industry observer of the communications provider space, Michelle Donegan, recently wrote that convergence specialist Mavenir Systems (News - Alert) “has raised $40 million in its fifth round of funding and announced plans to acquire mobile messaging firm Airwide Solutions for an undisclosed sum, as it ramps up its Long Term Evolution activities.”

Airwide’s products will be incorporated into Mavenir’s offerings.

As Donegan notes, this brings communications provider Mavenir's total funding to $105 million since October 2005, “The round was led by new investor August Capital and joined by another new investor, Cross Creek Capital, as well as existing investors North Bridge Venture Partners, Austin Ventures , Alloy Ventures and Greenspring Associates.”

Mavenir officials say they’ll use the new funds to help expand into new LTE (News - Alert) markets. They also plan to expand their customer base, which currently stands at 120-plus operators, and company officials also see the acquisition of Airwide as boosting Mavenir's growth plans “by increasing the company's international footprint as well as enhancing its product portfolio,” according to Donegan.

Earlier this year, TMCnet’s Carolyn J. Dawson reported that Mavenir announced the successful launch and deployment of its Mobile Cloud Services by Tier 1 mobile operators. Mobile operators launched the Mobile Cloud Services 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi and broadband access using Mavenir Systems’ Converged Voice, Video and Messaging, Dawson wrote, adding that this approach “has helped mobile operators to broaden their service offerings and expand their service horizons to effectively compete with over the top players.”

Donegan stated the recent acquisiton means Mavenir is targeting a market opportunity “resulting from one of the biggest technological and strategic challenges yet for mobile operators -- delivering voice and messaging services over LTE networks.”