Early this year AT&T announced its User-Defined Network Cloud program, a Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) ecosystem initiative to provide network as a service (NaaS) to customers. The program is supported by AT&T's Domain 2.0 supplier program that includes Ericsson, Tail-F Systems AB, Metaswitch Networks and Affirmed Network, which formed the initial batch of vendors. Amdocs and Juniper Networks were subsequently added to the program in April.
The program is now expanded to include another two large players - Alcatel-Lucent and Fujitsu Network Communications.AT&T is expected to announce in the next few weeks another round of vendors that will also be part of the program.
According to AT&T, the announcement will not effect its capital expenditure commitments though it does intend to reflect a downward bias toward capital spending in the next five years.
“The architecture and deployment teams are finalizing their planned introduction of this new architecture, which we expect to roll out later this year and early 2015. We look forward to collaborating with Fujitsu and Alcatel-Lucent to achieve our next-generation network.”
- Tim Harden, president, AT&T Supply Chain
