Bell Canada, Canada's largest communications company, said it will test AT&T's ECOMP software-defined networks platform.
Bell joins Orange as the first telecom companies to officially collaborate on the AT&T ECOMP effort. Orange, in September announced its plans to leverage AT&T’s ECOMP platform for testing its software-defined network.
This supplements both operator's recent announcement that they will collaborate on open source and standardization initiatives to accelerate the standardization of software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) technologies.
ECOMP, which stands for Enhanced Control, Orchestration, Management and Policy, is the software platform AT&T created to power its new network. ECOMP lets service providers quickly add features and drive down operations costs. AT&T is committed to release the platform as open source software in conjunction with the Linux Foundation in the first quarter of 2017.
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.
Chris Rice, senior vice president – AT&T Labs, Domain 2.0 Architecture and Design
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. We welcome Bell Canada's collaboration in driving a new network approach that is faster, more efficient and ultimately more responsive to customer needs.
Petri Lyytikainen, Bell's vice president, Network Strategy, Services and Management
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.
