Telefónica Steps Closer to Transport SDN

Spanish giant has conducted a field trial of a programmable packet-optical network with live traffic in Peru.

February 2, 2016

2 Min Read
Telefónica Steps Closer to Transport SDN

Telefónica has taken a step closer to a programmable transport architecture with a field trial of SDN capabilities involving commercial traffic. The trial took place in Peru.

The operator and its technology partner, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. , are claiming this as an industry first and will continue to develop the Chinese vendor's SDN IP+Optical solution -- including ROADM, OTN switching and router hardware and SDN controller and orchestration software -- for commercial deployment.

The aim of the partners is to build programmable networks that can adapt to the service requirements of an operator while reducing costs and improving overall operational efficiencies. Telefónica SA (NYSE: TEF) group CTO Enrique Blanco has stated that the development of an efficient, flexible transport network is critical to the operator's 5G strategy and is one of the first challenges that needs to be successfully overcome as Telefónica prepares to manage increasing volumes of video and data traffic.

It has taken a lot of tests and trials to get to this point, though. Telefónica and Huawei announced the completion of "SDN-based IP and Optical synergy" lab tests in March 2014 and issued a joint press release about its first field trials in March 2015. (See Telefónica Tests Optical/IP SDN With Huawei.)

Want to know more about the emerging SDN market? Check out our dedicated SDN content channel here on Light Reading.

Many major operators are aggressively transforming their transport networks to become more agile, gain a competitive edge and eventually reduce costs but there are a number of ways to reach those goals, as a Heavy Reading report, Programmable Transport: Use Cases Emerge as Capability Improves, noted late last year. (See Vendors Vie for Programmable Transport Traction.)

— Ray Le Maistre, Circle me on Google+ Follow me on TwitterVisit my LinkedIn profile, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

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