Canadian operator becomes second to test AT&T's software platform for orchestrating and managing SDNs, soon to be available in open source.

December 15, 2016

2 Min Read

DALLAS - Bell Canada, Canada’s largest communications company, is now testing AT&T’s ECOMP platform. The company will use the tool to create and manage software-defined networks.

AT&T built ECOMP with a focus on making it accessible to other operators and cloud developers. The company has committed to release the platform as open source software in conjunction with the Linux Foundation in the first quarter of 2017.

“ECOMP represents a significant investment in the software-centric networks of the future. We have committed to taking this investment into open source through the Linux Foundation,” said Chris Rice, senior vice president – AT&T Labs, Domain 2.0 Architecture and Design. “We welcome Bell Canada’s collaboration in driving a new network approach that is faster, more efficient and ultimately more responsive to customer needs.”

“Bell Canada is committed to leading broadband network and service innovation in Canada. We believe software-defined networks will advance the future of both wireless and wireline connectivity by adapting to customer needs quickly, and enabling a seamless user experience,” said Petri Lyytikainen, Bell’s vice president, Network Strategy, Services and Management. “We are pleased to collaborate with AT&T and other leading communications companies to evaluate the promising capabilities of the open-source ECOMP platform.”

Founded in Montréal in 1880, Bell is Canada’s largest communications company with more than 21 million customer connections across every province and territory of the country. Bell operates an LTE-Advanced wireless network ranked as Canada’s fastest and a broadband fiber network delivering gigabit Internet speeds, next-generation Fibe TV and a range of business connectivity services.

Bell joins Orange as the first telecom companies to officially collaborate on the AT&T ECOMP effort. AT&T adopted the software-centric vision several years ago as a response to skyrocketing demand for network capacity. Businesses and consumers expect more out of their networks than ever before. And those demands are only going to increase over the next several years, as new applications like 4K video, virtual reality and augmented reality, and the Internet of Things take off.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T)

BCE Inc. (Bell Canada) (NYSE/Toronto: BCE)

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