Paradyne, also referred to as AT&T Paradyne, was a maker of

computer networking A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are ma ...

and

telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

s hardware, based in

Largo, Florida Largo is the third largest city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, as well as the fourth largest in the Tampa Bay area. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 82,500, up from 69,371 in 2000. Largo was first incorporated in 1 ...

. The company formed in 1969 to supply computer communications systems and expanded steadily through the 1970s and 80s. During these period they operated in the high-end

modem A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...

market and competed with Motorola Codex, Racal-Milgo, and divisions of AT&T and IBM. As one of its first major purchases after the 1982

Breakup of the Bell System The breakup of the Bell System was mandated on January 8, 1982, by an agreed consent decree providing that AT&T Corporation would, as had been initially proposed by AT&T, relinquish control of the Bell Operating Companies, which had provided loc ...

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

purchased the company for $250 million in 1989. The company grew to become a major supplier in the

digital subscriber line Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric di ...

(DSL) industry as that expanded. When AT&T spun off

Lucent Lucent Technologies, Inc. was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Murray Hill, New Jersey. It was established on September 30, 1996, through the dives ...

in 1996, Paradyne moved to the new company. Lucent quickly sold Paradyne to

Texas Pacific Group TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American investment company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The private equity firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in growth c ...

(

TPG Capital TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American investment company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The private equity firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in growth c ...

) for $175 million where it became Paradyne Networks."Lucent Technologies agrees to sell AT&T Paradyne unit"
''The New York Times'', June 20, 1996. The company changed hands several times since then and has been owned by

DZS DZS, formerly Zhone Technologies and DASAN Zhone Solutions, is a provider of telecommunications networking equipment founded in 1999. It is headquartered in Plano. DZS is ISO 9001:2008 certified in the manufacture and service of telecommunicat ...

since 2005.

References

* * * * {{Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Telecommunications equipment vendors Networking companies of the United States American companies established in 1969 Former AT&T subsidiaries