Telstra preps for SDN, NFV future
Australian telecom giant Telstra said it will continue working with vendor Ericsson to supply optical transport equipment and services, as well as packet-optical platforms from Ciena in support of the carrier’s move toward virtualization.
Telstra said the optical transport equipment will be used to help the carrier “dynamically move and shape transport capacity” as Telstra supports growing network capacity demand. In addition, the equipment will support the carrier’s move toward increased use of cloud-based services, which require very low latency transport technology in order to provide a satisfactory user experience.
Telstra is also tapping the agreement to support its move toward the introduction of software-defined networking and network function virtualization capabilities, “which will form an essential path to deliver flexible and scalable control networks,” the carrier explained. The move follows a general trend by wireless operators around the world toward virtualizing portions of their networks using SDN and NFV technology.
The agreement also taps into a deal signed earlier this year between Ericsson and Ciena that allows Ericsson to sell and support Ciena’s Coverged Packet Optical portfolio and work together on the development of a multilayer WAN controller.
Ericsson has increasingly turned its attention to the telecom software space, with a recent Maravedis-Rethink report predicting that recent advancements in network virtualization has wireless carriers looking at ways to cut hardware spending and is forcing equipment vendors to become more proactive in tackling the software space. Ericsson earlier this year announced a restructuring that will see one group concentrate on radio technologies while the other will focus on IP and cloud initiatives. Johan Wibergh, head of Ericsson’s networks business unit and tasked with overseeing both of the new divisions, told RCR Wireless News that continued focused on the company’s radio access networks business remains the company’s top priority.
“Ericsson, the most threatened by the shift of spending from hardware to software, has also been the most proactive,” explained Maravedis-Rethink research director Caroline Gabriel. “It may still have its head in the sand about small cells, but it has placed itself in the vanguard of SDN, determined to shape that trend, not be consumed by it.”
Recent reports have predicted explosive growth for the SDN and NFV market, with Infonetics Research forecasting $5 billion in sales by 2020. International Data Corp. noted in a separate report that the move toward SDN and NFV is set to “revolutionize” the telecom space, despite some potential challenges.
“Despite budget concerns and questions about the ability to execute on the network virtualization vision, [communication service providers], telecom vendors and partners are all embracing potential opportunities,” explained Elisabeth Rainge, research VP for Communications Service Provider Operations at IDC. “Network virtualization for telecom represents some significant challenges, but the upside is extremely high. And, while not everyone will reap the benefits of this profound sea change (e.g., entrenched telecom equipment manufacturers), IDC sees an evolution of infrastructure that is already underway.”
Monica Paolini, founder and president of Senza Fili Consulting, also touched on the potential challenges for wireless carriers moving toward virtualization, but noted the move was necessary for carriers to continue extracting value from their networks in the face of increased over-the-top competition.
“A main driver for NFV and SDN is the realization that current networks are too rigid, unyielding and slow to extract all the potential that new technologies and solutions contribute, and to adapt service creation to subscribers’ changing usage models and to revenue-generating targets,” Paolini explained. “The flexibility and agility that virtualization brings — and that increasingly operators recognize as its main benefits — reduce the amount of fine-grained control that operators currently have over individual functions. This change is going to be challenging for operators (and, possibly, for vendors as well) from a cultural and operational perspective, even when the technology works flawlessly.”
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