Software is becoming an increasingly important part of telecommunication networks and deployments as both wired and wireless carriers look to add functionality to operations while increasing simplicity and reducing costs. RCR Wireless News is keeping an eye on recent developments through its weekly “Software” wrap up.
A new report from Infonetics Research found that multiscreen television providers are looking at network function virtualization technology to help in their distribution of content.
The report noted that while none of the service providers interviewed for the report said they were currently using NFV, it expects 42% of those companies to be using the virtualization technology by 2016.
“Service providers want flexibility in the processing platforms they use to encode and play- out video content,” explained Jeff Heynen, principal analyst for broadband access and pay TV at Infonetics Research. “(NFV) moves functions usually embedded in network hardware – such as encoders and video-on-demand play-out servers – into software that can run in a virtual machine on standard servers, giving operators more flexibility in how they process and distribute video content.”
Infonetics added that those interviewed ranked Ericsson and Harmonic “as the most familiar multiscreen vendors.”
• South Korean mobile operator LG Uplus and Nokia Networks said they have recently completed a three-month trial of Nokia Network’s Intelligent Network Platform on LG Uplus’ LTE network, which provided a 35% “performance gain” in content delivery and reportedly reduced latency for “big objects” of up to 30 megabytes.
• China-based infrastructure provider ZTE recently joined the Open Platform for Network Function Virtualization project as a platinum member. The organization said it’s an open-source project focused on accelerating the evolution of NFV technology. The project was launched in September as an offshoot of the Linux Foundation.
• Wireless industry trade association 4G Americas released a white paper touting potential benefits NFV technology can have for operators rolling out or operating LTE-based networks. The paper outlined three main benefits NFV can bring to the table, including improved capital efficiency; operational efficiencies; and service agility, innovation and differentiation.
“NFV also provides a beneficial framework for mobile operators and service providers to help transition into new management and orchestration functions that help automate this increasingly sophisticated combination of physical and virtual resources,” added Bob Gessel, head of technology and portfolio strategy development at Ericsson, and co-editor and one of the work group leaders of the white paper. “This can impact existing operational procedures and service models; rearranging the operational responsibility and administrative domains of operators, ultimately reducing operating expenses and increasing agility for new services.”
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