Open Compute Project launches telco focus with support from DT, EE, SK, Verizon and AT&T
The Open Compute Project, which was formed five years ago under the umbrella of reimagining the design of servers and other hardware used in data centers, unveiled a Telco Project focused on data center technologies for telecom operators as well as a handful of new members from the telecom space.
OCP said the open forum will focus on communicating telecom technical requirements to the OCP community; look to strengthen the OCP ecosystem to address the deployment and operational needs of telecom operators; and look to bring its work to telecom data center infrastructure to provide increased cost-savings and agility. Bolstering the program is the addition of AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, EE, SK Telecom and Verizon Communications to OCP.
“Leaders in telecommunications embracing OCP signifies the start of a new and exciting chapter as we work together to enable better designs, easier adoption, and efficiency gains across the board,” said Jason Taylor, president and chairman of the OCP board and VP of infrastructure at Facebook.
In joining OCP, AT&T said with its stated goal of controlling more than 75% of its network with software architecture by 2020, it’s looking for innovation support in terms of driving telecom needs into data centers.
“We’re becoming a software and networking company,” explained Andre Fuetsch, SVP of architecture and design at AT&T. “As a result, our central offices are going to look a lot more like data centers as we evolve our networking infrastructure. The Open Compute Project is innovating rapidly in this area, and we’re thrilled to be collaborating with the community of engineers and developers that are driving the evolution. We look forward to our vendors and other industry players supporting this initiative, as well.”
Also joining OCP are Equinix and Nexius, with the organization also noting Nokia Networks has announced plans to incorporate OCP designs into its AirFrame Data Center portfolio.
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