IKANO Communications

What IKANO Communications does

IKANO Communications, Inc. is a diversified, privately held internet company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Northridge, California, with operations in Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Toronto, and additional regional sales offices. The company operates through five wholly-owned brands: DSL Extreme (broadband/DSL Internet access, the largest private DSL provider in California), Broadvoice (hosted voice/VoIP and cloud PBX), Dialup USA (wholesale dial-up access across 14,000+ access numbers in the US and Canada), ISP.com (retail internet services), and Virtacore Systems (virtualization and cloud hosting built on VMware, operating 10,000+ VMs at Equinix IBX data centers). Since 2015, IKANO has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Teutonic Holdings, LLC, previously backed by Insight Venture Partners.

The core of the business is a multi-vertical internet services platform combining retail broadband and hosted voice (DSL Extreme and Broadvoice direct brands) with wholesale/channel programs that let ISPs, VARs, and resellers offer branded services on IKANO's infrastructure. A proprietary unified DSL provisioning platform enables real-time, multi-carrier DSL pre-qualification and order processing across AT&T, Verizon, Frontier, Bell Canada, and Covad networks, with a partner-facing BackOfficeEngine portal handling billing, orders, and customer management. The company operates a tiered revenue model: subscription revenue from end-user broadband and hosted voice subscribers, wholesale revenue from ISP partners (setup/annual fees plus per-subscriber charges), hardware revenue from DSL modem sales ($35 per unit), and IaaS revenue from cloud hosting.

Revenue mechanics derive from recurring subscriptions and wholesale partner fees, with quotes-based pricing for wholesale DSL and retail DSL plans starting at $14.95/month. The customer base spans nearly 100,000 end-user clients served by DSL Extreme, over 1,000 ISP customers of Dialup USA, and hundreds of wholesale DSL partners plus Broadvoice VARs. Geographic coverage is primarily the US with selected Canadian coverage via Bell Canada and includes 21+ metropolitan areas and 21 states for the trueSTREAM product. Growth has historically been driven by serial acquisitions (Dialup USA and ISP.com in 2005; DSL Extreme in 2006; Defender Technologies/Virtacore in 2009) and channel partnerships, and the company has received Deloitte Technology Fast 500, Inc. 500, Utah 100, Inner City 100, and Call Center of the Year recognitions.

Name

IKANO Communications

Legal name

IKANO Communications, Inc.

Website

https://ikano.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

IKANO Communications is a privately held diversified internet company operating wholesale and retail DSL broadband (DSL Extreme), hosted VoIP (Broadvoice), wholesale dial-up (Dialup USA), and cloud hosting (Virtacore) for ISPs, resellers, and end users across the US and Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecommunications Services

NAICS

Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (51711), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813), Services-Telephone Interconnect Systems (7385)

akta.pro primary industry

VoIP Access & ITSP Services (HDAIAHAD)

Keywords

• Wholesale DSL services
• Hosted voice services
• Broadband internet access
• Cloud hosting services
• Private label internet

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Broadband Internet Access Services: Recurring monthly subscription revenue from DSL and broadband services sold directly to consumers and businesses through DSL Extreme brand, and to wholesale partners who resell under their own brands
2. Wholesale DSL Access: Revenue from wholesale ISP partners who pay setup fees ($200), annual renewal fees ($200), and per-subscriber charges for DSL services. Partners handle their own billing and customer relationships
3. Wholesale Dial-Up Services: Revenue from Dialup USA wholesale dial-up services serving hundreds of ISPs with access to thousands of dial-up numbers across the US and Canada
4. Hosted Voice Services: Revenue from Broadvoice hosted voice and telecommunications services, including cloud PBX, residential and business phone services
5. DSL Hardware Sales: One-time sales of DSL modems at $35 per unit with 90-day warranty, sold to wholesale partners who resell to end customers

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IKANO Communications is a diversified internet company that delivers broadband Internet access and hosted voice services through owned consumer brands (DSL Extreme, Broadvoice, ISP.com) and wholesale/private-label channels (Wholesale DSL, Dialup USA). It enables ISPs and resellers to offer branded internet, dial-up, and VoIP services on multiple carrier networks via a unified multi-carrier DSL provisioning platform, and operates Virtacore for cloud hosting.

Product overview

IKANO Communications operates as a diversified Internet company offering two primary service lines: Broadband Internet Access (via DSL Extreme) and Hosted Voice Services (via Broadvoice). The company serves both direct/retail customers and wholesale partners through multiple brands including DSL Extreme (flagship broadband brand), Broadvoice (hosted VoIP), Dialup USA (wholesale dialup), ISP.com (retail ISP), and Virtacore (cloud hosting). The portfolio includes wholesale DSL provisioning platforms, Google Apps integration for email and productivity, and Fusion Broadband+Voice bundled services. The company offers its services through direct and wholesale channels across the United States and Canada.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DSL Extreme: Leading provider of broadband Internet access and related services; largest private DSL provider in California
• Dialup USA
• Virtacore
• ISP.com
• Broadvoice

Products and services

• DSL Extreme High-speed and traditional Internet services for consumer and business customers nationwide, including DSL, dial-up, hosting, dedicated connections, email, and exchange hosting. The flagship broadband brand and largest private DSL provider in California, supporting nearly 100,000 end user clients.
• Broadvoice Hosted voice and VoIP telecommunications services for consumers and businesses across the continental US and Canada. Award-winning, US-based customer support; offers cloud PBX, residential and business phone services.
• Dialup USA Wholesale dial-up access network operating one of the largest networks in the US and Canada with over 14,000 access numbers, serving hundreds of ISP resellers.
• Virtacore Systems Hybrid cloud services provider specializing in infrastructure as a service (IaaS) for business customers; manages over 10,000 virtual machines at Equinix IBX data centers and offers VMware-based public cloud (vCloud Express) and private cloud services.
• ISP.com Retail Internet services brand serving subscribers across the country, acquired by IKANO in August 2005.
• IKANO Wholesale DSL Program Wholesale DSL service enabling ISPs to offer branded DSL services on multiple telecommunications networks (AT&T, Verizon, Frontier, Bell Canada, Covad) with a unified provisioning platform providing real-time DSL pre-qualification and branded order processing. Partners set their own pricing and manage billing/support while IKANO handles order processing and circuit setup.
• IKANO Wholesale Dial-Up Service Wholesale dial-up access service with minimal setup fee and low monthly minimum, featuring proprietary Network Management System to protect partners from overage charges, with thousands of access numbers across the US and Canada.
• DSL Extreme Fusion Broadband + Phone Bundled broadband and voice service for Los Angeles customers, combining DSL Extreme's high-speed Internet access with Sonic.net's phone service.
• DSL Extreme trueSTREAM

Quantifiable outcome

• Network serves nearly 100,000 end user clients
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AT&TcoreTechnology or IntegrationAT&T is a key carrier network partner providing DSL infrastructure. IKANO's wholesale DSL platform operates on AT&T's network in multiple states including California, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin.
• Verizon CommunicationscoreTechnology or IntegrationVerizon is a carrier network partner providing DSL services. IKANO's platform supports Verizon network across multiple states including California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Verizon territories support Dry-Loop DSL.
• Bell CanadacoreTechnology or IntegrationBell Canada is a carrier partner providing DSL services in Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. IKANO's network footprint includes Bell Canada under favorable contracts for North American coverage.
• Frontier CommunicationscoreTechnology or IntegrationFrontier Communications is a carrier network partner for DSL services. Frontier territories support Dry-Loop DSL (standalone DSL without landline requirement) across states including Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
• Covad CommunicationscoreTechnology or IntegrationCovad Communications provides nationwide DSL coverage and is a key carrier network partner on IKANO's wholesale DSL platform. Covad imposes a 12-month contract term with $150 early termination fee. The Covad/IKANO branded modems are available for $35 each.
• GooglecoreTechnology or IntegrationIKANO partnered with Google to deploy Google Apps - Google's web-based platform for communication and collaboration. IKANO helps mid-sized ISPs (generally with 100,000 or less subscribers) expand service offerings by offering Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Talk, and Start Page features under ISPs' own domain names.
• VMwarecoreTechnology or IntegrationVirtacore (IKANO subsidiary) developed strong strategic partnerships with VMware for virtualization and cloud hosting services. Virtacore offers VMware-based unified platform for public cloud (vCloud Express) and private cloud services.
• EquinixcoreTechnology or IntegrationVirtacore manages over 10,000 virtual machines at Equinix IBX data centers nationwide, connected to a custom network of top-tier bandwidth providers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Phone.com: Phone.com is a smaller hosted VoIP provider targeting SMBs and small-office users with cloud voice services, comparable to Broadvoice's hosted voice offerings for SMB and residential customers. Both monetize subscription VoIP through channel partners.
• Vonage: Vonage provides hosted VoIP and unified communications services to consumers and businesses, paralleling Broadvoice's hosted voice value proposition. Both companies target similar customer segments (SMB and residential) with subscription VoIP.
• 8x8: 8x8 is a hosted voice and UCaaS provider serving SMB and mid-market customers, directly comparable to Broadvoice's hosted voice offerings. Both monetize recurring VoIP subscriptions and pursue channel-led distribution.
• Ooma: Ooma delivers cloud-based hosted voice and smart communications for SMBs and consumers, similar to Broadvoice. It targets similar buyer profiles with subscription VoIP and has overlapping geographic reach in the US.
• EarthLink: EarthLink is a closely comparable Internet services provider offering broadband Internet access to consumers and small businesses, as well as wholesale partner programs similar to IKANO's DSL wholesale platform. Both companies target ISP partners and end-user customers across the US and have overlapping DSL-era heritage.
• CBeyond (now MetTel): CBeyond (now part of MetTel) provides hosted VoIP and broadband services to SMBs, overlapping with IKANO's Broadvoice + DSL Extreme bundle. Both target SMB voice/data needs through channel and direct sales.
• MegaPath: MegaPath offers hosted VoIP and broadband services to SMBs, closely mirroring IKANO's Broadvoice hosted voice + DSL Extreme broadband combination. Both serve SMBs with bundled voice and data, and have historical reliance on wholesale carrier networks.
• NetZero (United Online): NetZero provides dial-up and broadband Internet services to consumers and ISPs, directly comparable to IKANO's Dialup USA wholesale dial-up and ISP.com retail offerings. Both monetize legacy dial-up and early broadband access through partner channels.

Broad incumbents

• Cox Communications: Cox Communications is a major US cable broadband and voice provider serving residential and business customers with broadband, video, and VoIP. While much larger, Cox competes in the same SMB and consumer broadband/voice segments as DSL Extreme and Broadvoice.
• Windstream: Windstream is a large incumbent ILEC providing voice, broadband, and wholesale services across the US, similar to IKANO's telecom services portfolio. Windstream operates its own network, giving it substantially greater scale than IKANO's wholesale-led model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IKANO
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/9205

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

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

M&A3 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about IKANO Communications