Effnet AB

What Effnet AB does

Effnet AB is a Swedish intellectual-property software company founded in 1997 in Luleå and operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Effnetplattformen Holding AB. The company develops and licenses a portfolio of header compression software (Effnet ROHC, ROHCv2, ROHC-TCP, IPHC, CRTP, BHC, EHC, EthHC, and IoT variants, plus a Modbus industrial compression extension and an HC-Sim testing tool) and a 5G protocol-stack suite that includes a 5G UE/CPE L2-L3 stack, a containerized 5G RAN solution (gNB CU-CP, CU-UP, DU) with a compact 5G Core for network-in-a-box deployments, a 5G Non-3GPP Access solution, and a C++ ASN.1 5G Toolset. All products are written in portable ANSI C/C++ with no operating-system dependencies and are validated on ARM and Intel-based COTS hardware, supporting open standardized interfaces such as NG-C/U, E1, F1-C/U, FAPI/nFAPI, E2, and NetConf/YANG.

The company generates revenue through software licensing and royalties, selling primarily to OEMs, ODMs, semiconductor vendors (Qualcomm, Intel, Broadcom, Marvell, NXP, Infineon, ASR Microelectronics, GCT Semiconductor, Freescale), telecom equipment vendors (Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent, NEC, Airspan, Altiostar, Tejas Networks), satellite communications players (Inmarsat, Hughes, Comtech, ND SatCom, Thales Alenia Space, Kratos RT Logic, Teledyne Paradise Datacom, ViaSat), industrial customers (Siemens, ABB, Schneider Electric via Trio Datacom, Hitachi), defense/government (SSC Pacific), and tier-1 operators (KDDI, Kyocera). Distribution combines direct enterprise licensing with ecosystem channels (Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog, Intel Network Builders, Arm 5G Solutions Lab, Digital Catapult SONIC Labs) and a regional representative (WeGoes) for South Korea, while marketing relies on MWC Barcelona and MWC Las Vegas participation plus corporate website and press releases.

Name

Effnet AB

Legal name

Effnet AB

Website

https://effnet.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Effnet AB is a Swedish IP-licensing company that develops header compression software (ROHC, BHC, EHC) and 5G protocol stacks for OEMs, semiconductor vendors, telecom equipment makers, and satellite operators worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Luleå

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Software Licensing (Header Compression): Effnet licenses its header compression software portfolio (ROHC, BHC, EHC, EthHC, IoT-HC, Modbus compression) to semiconductor companies, modem manufacturers, telecom equipment vendors, satellite modem makers, and industrial communication vendors. Licensing covers use in terminals, network equipment, and satellite terminals.
2. 5G Protocol Stack Licensing: Licensing of 5G UE/CPE L2-L3 protocol stack, 5G gNB RAN software (CU-CP, CU-UP, DU), 5G Core (compact), ASN.1 5G Toolset, and Non-3GPP Access solutions to OEMs/ODMs, network equipment vendors, and system integrators.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Effnet AB develops and licenses a portfolio of header compression software (ROHC, BHC, EHC, IPHC, CRTP, IoT, EthHC) and 5G protocol stack/RAN solutions (5G gNB CU-CP/CU-UP/DU, compact 5G Core, 5G UE L2-L3 stack, Non-3GPP Access, ASN.1 5G Toolset). The software is sold via B2B licensing to OEMs, ODMs, semiconductor manufacturers, telecom equipment vendors, satellite communication providers, and industrial automation companies for embedding into their products and networks.

Product overview

Effnet AB offers a comprehensive portfolio of header compression software and 5G RAN solutions. The header compression product family includes Effnet ROHC™, Effnet ROHCv2™, Effnet ROHC-TCP™, Effnet IPHC™, Effnet CRTP™, Effnet BHC™, Effnet EHC™, Effnet EthHC™, and Effnet IoT™ for bandwidth optimization across cellular, satellite, IoT, and industrial networks. Supporting products include Effnet Modbus Header & Payload Compression™ for industrial protocols and Effnet HC-Sim™ for testing. The 5G portfolio comprises the Network-in-a-box solution (5G Core, gNB CU-CP, gNB CU-UP, gNB DU), 5G UE Protocol Stack for devices, and 5G Non-3GPP Access Solutions. An ASN.1 5G Toolset provides protocol encoding/decoding. All solutions are designed for portability across ARM and Intel processors with COTS hardware support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Effnet ROHC™: Robust Header Compression software implementing IETF RFC 3095 for VoIP and wireless networks
• Effnet ROHCv2™
• Effnet ROHC-TCP™
• Effnet BHC™
• Effnet EHC™
• Effnet EthHC™
• Effnet IoT™
• Effnet IPHC™
• Effnet CRTP™
• Effnet HC-Sim™
• Effnet Modbus Header & Payload Compression™
• Effnet ASN.1 5G Toolset

Products and services

• Effnet ROHC™ Standards-compliant Robust Header Compression software implementing IETF RFC 3095, RFC 3843, and RFC 4815 for compressing RTP/UDP/IP, UDP/IP, ESP/IP, and IP headers on wireless links including 4G/LTE and 5G/NR networks. Licensed to telecom equipment vendors, semiconductor companies, and modem manufacturers.
• Effnet ROHCv2™ Next-generation Robust Header Compression implementing IETF RFC 5795 and RFC 5225 for enhanced robustness against packet loss and reordering on cellular and satellite links.
• Effnet ROHC-TCP™ TCP/IP header compression implementing IETF RFC 6846 for improved bandwidth efficiency on TCP traffic including acknowledgements and web traffic, particularly for satellite and cellular backhaul.
• Effnet IPHC™ IP Header Compression implementing IETF RFC 2507 for compressing IPv4, IPv6, UDP and TCP headers on low and medium bandwidth links including dial-up and wireless.
• Effnet CRTP™ Compressed RTP implementing IETF RFC 2508 and enhanced ECRTP (RFC 3545) for compressing RTP/UDP/IP headers on low bandwidth links such as dial-up modems.
• Effnet BHC™ Backhaul Header Compression supporting multi-layer header chains including Ethernet, VXLAN, MPLS, PPPoE, GRE, GTP-U, IPv4/IPv6, TCP, UDP, and RTP for cellular backhaul, satellite, and microwave links. 2-3x more system efficient than ROHC while maintaining comparable compression efficiency.
• Effnet EHC™ 3GPP Release 16 Ethernet Header Compression implementing TS 38.323 for industrial IoT applications where Ethernet headers are compressed over wireless networks.
• Effnet EthHC™ Proprietary Ethernet Header Compression for compressing Ethernet headers when extending LAN links over wireless connections such as UHF/VHF links.
• Effnet IoT™ Header compression for IoT devices implementing IETF RFC 6282 and RFC 7400 for IPv6 header compression over 6LoWPAN networks for resource-constrained devices.
• Effnet Modbus Header & Payload Compression™ Extension of ROHC-TCP framework for compressing Modbus-TCP headers and payloads in industrial communications over Ethernet/IP networks, for industrial automation vendors.
• Effnet HC-Sim™ Header compression simulator for testing IP header compression algorithms under configurable traffic and link conditions including bit errors, packet loss, and reordering.
• Effnet 5G Solutions (Network-in-a-Box) Containerized 5G RAN software including 5G Core (compact), 5G gNB CU-CP, 5G gNB CU-UP, and 5G gNB DU components with standardized open interfaces for private networks, satellite, government/military, and public safety deployments on COTS ARM and Intel hardware.
• Effnet 5G UE Protocol Stack Portable and modular 5G L2-L3 protocol stack for UE/CPE devices supporting SA mode, Wi-Fi interworking, V2X, and NB-IoT with PHY adaptation layer for integration with different L1 vendors. For customer premises equipment, industrial routers, and IoT applications.
• Effnet 5G Non-3GPP Access Solutions 5G solutions supporting integration with non-3GPP access networks including Wi-Fi, satellite, and wireline for seamless 5G connectivity through N3IWF, TNGF, and W-AGF functions.
• Effnet ASN.1 5G Toolset ASN.1 compiler and encoder/decoder libraries supporting 3GPP Release 15 specifications (RRC, F1AP, E1AP, NGAP, XnAP, NRPPa) and O-RAN E2AP, written in modern C++ with PER encoding support.

Quantifiable outcome

• G.729 voice codec bandwidth savings of 74% using ROHC over satellite links
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers32 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Digital Catapult SONIC LabscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 February 2021Cohort member of SONIC Labs (SmartRAN Open Network Interoperability Centre), a UK government-backed program for accelerating open RAN technology development and interoperability testing. Effnet joined the next phase of SONIC Labs in December 2022.
• WeGoescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 5 July 2017WeGoes serves as the exclusive regional representative and distributor for Effnet in South Korea, handling sales, customer support, and business development for the Korean telecom market.
• Red HatcoreTechnology or IntegrationEffnet 5G Open RAN DU is listed and validated in the Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog, enabling deployment on Red Hat OpenShift container platform. Effnet has been validated using VIAVI TeraVM and power monitoring for Red Hat OpenShift for energy-efficient computing.
• IntelcoreTechnology or IntegrationMember of Intel Network Builders ecosystem and Intel Winner's Circle. Effnet products are optimized for Intel processor platforms and validated in Intel's ecosystem for 5G network solutions.
• ArmcoreTechnology or IntegrationMember of Arm 5G Solutions Lab. Effnet collaborated with Arm and Red Hat to showcase 5G RAN software at MWC 2023. Effnet 5G solutions are optimized for ARM-based processors.
• TanneraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEffnet, Tannera and Phluido showcased their Cloud-Native Private 5G RAN Solution at MWC Las Vegas 2024.
• PhluidominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEffnet, Tannera and Phluido showcased their Cloud-Native Private 5G RAN Solution at MWC Las Vegas 2024.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Ericsson: Global incumbent 5G RAN vendor whose end-to-end gNB and Core portfolio competes directly with Effnet's Network-in-a-Box for private 5G and operator deployments.
• Nokia: Incumbent 5G RAN and Core vendor with AnyRAN open RAN initiative. Competes with Effnet in private 5G and open RAN, and overlaps in protocol stack IP.
• Qualcomm: Disclosed Effnet customer (header compression licensing) but also a vertically integrated incumbent with internal 5G modem and protocol stack IP that competes with Effnet at the semiconductor layer.
• Cisco: Disclosed Effnet customer for header compression but a broad incumbent networking vendor with internal routing, 5G, and protocol stack capabilities overlapping Effnet's offerings.

Emerging players

• Tessares: Specialist in 5G/4G protocol stack and ATSSS/aggregation technology. Comparable emerging peer in the niche of independent protocol-stack IP licensing to operators and vendors.

Direct peers

• InterDigital: Independent licensor of wireless and video technology IP. Direct peer to Effnet in the model of licensing foundational telecom protocol IP (including header compression) to global OEMs and semiconductor vendors.
• Mavenir: End-to-end Open RAN and 5G core vendor offering containerized CU/DU software and RAN components on COTS hardware — closely aligned with Effnet's 5G gNB CU-CP/CU-UP/DU portfolio and OpenShift-based deployment model.
• Airspan Networks: Open RAN small cell and 5G RAN vendor that is both a disclosed Effnet customer and a comparable competitor offering containerized 5G gNB solutions for private and public networks.
• Marvell: Disclosed Effnet customer and semiconductor peer that integrates header compression into its networking/5G chipsets — directly comparable buyer/integrator of Effnet-style IP.

Others

• Viavi Solutions: Test and validation vendor whose TeraVM platform is used to validate Effnet's 5G gNB-CU. Adjacent ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor, but useful comparability for 5G RAN testing economics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/effnet-ab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Effnet AB