Software: AT&T adds Alcatel-Lucent, Fujitsu to cloud program

Software is becoming an increasingly important part of telecommunication networks and deployments as both wired and wireless carriers look to add functionality to operations while increasing simplicity and reducing costs. RCR Wireless News is keeping an eye on recent developments through its weekly “Software” wrap up.
—AT&T continues to bolster its User-Defined Network Cloud program, this week announcing the addition of Alcatel-Lucent and Fujitsu Network Communications to the program. AT&T said the two companies will work with previously announced member Juniper Networks to “build” the platform.
The cloud program is part of AT&T’s broader Domain 2.0 supplier program that looks to accelerate the time-to-market of services and cut capital expenses. AT&T said the cloud platform will be designed to “place customers at the center of the network with a modern, cloud-based architecture,” and that it will “change how AT&T does business, works with suppliers and manages systems, platforms and software.”
AT&T did add that the move towards virtualizing its network operations would not have an immediate impact on capital spending, which it recently said was still on track to hit $21 billion for the year.
“However, in the next five years, AT&T expects the User-Defined Network Cloud program to reflect a downward bias toward capital spending,” the company explained. “This will come from growing the vendor community, relying less on specialized hardware and using more common off-the-shelf equipment, and deploying open service and network components that are reusable.”
AT&T added that it plans to announce its next round of vendors in the coming weeks.
–Using network virtualization to enhance network edge performance appears to be low on the priority list for mobile operators, though Peter Jarich, VP of consumer and infrastructure services at Current Analysis, recently noted that the vendor community needs to keep pressing that business case.
In a recent blog post, Jarich cited a Current Analysis survey conducted last year that showed network simplification and multi-tenancy applications were highest on the list of what telecom operators were hoping to derive from the move towards network function virtualization, with scaling applications to the edge coming in nearly last.
“NFV is still a relatively new market evolution for operators,” Jarich explained. “It is only natural that they would first focus on marquee priorities such as network simplification and multi-tenancy. This means that continued messaging and marketing around edge-based applications is needed in order to get operators thinking about the concept. Make no mistake, however: if operators are interested in moving beyond the consumer market and tackling various enterprise (vertical market) constituencies, they will want to be thinking about this concept.”
—Sprint this week expanded its agreement with NetCracker Technology, announcing a multi-year extension to use NetCracker’s operating support solutions platform to support the carrier’s Spark network initiative.
Sprint has been using NetCracker’s Resource Inventory, Order Management, and Discovery and Reconciliation solutions to support its rapidly expanding LTE network. The new agreement will extend that OSS support to the carrier’s enhanced LTE efforts that will see it throw additional spectrum resources at its network to provide higher data speed and capacity. Sprint said it expects the NetCracker platform to support “greater operational efficiencies, reduce time to market for new services” and accelerate the roll out of Spark services.
Make sure to check out the latest in telecom related software news at RCR Wireless News’ dedicated software page. Also, if you have telecom software news to share, please send it along to: dmeyer@rcrwireless.com.
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