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ADTRAN (News - Alert) is expanding its portfolio through a new arrangement with Cambridge Communication Systems of the U.K. CCS will provide its Metnet self-organizing millimeter wave backhaul solution to the Huntsville, Ala.-based business. Metnet complements ADTRAN’s SD-Access based NG-PON2 solution for 5G backhaul.

“The resiliency, scale and low-latency capabilities of the ADTRAN SD-Access based mmWave solution make it the clear choice for operators seeking an affordable and sustainable 5G rollout, specifically in those instances where backhaul fiber is initially unavailable or impractical,” said Hossam Salib, vice president of cable and wireless strategy at ADTRAN. “Extending our portfolio to include Metnet – CCS’ unique self-organizing mmWave backhaul solution – adds a crucial wireless alternative, creating a complete customer proposition for all operators eager to execute fast, seamless deployment of dense 5G networks and other gigabit access solutions for both residential and enterprise customers.”

CCS CEO Steve Greaves added: “The combination of our pioneering wireless mesh/SON technology, with ADTRAN’s 5G-ready NG-PON2 solution, offers huge advantages to operators as they pursue next-generation service opportunities and roll out open, software-defined networks.”

This announcement follows ADTRAN’s August announcement that it has created the Mosaic Open Network Alliance in an effort to support further development and adoption of network functions virtualization and software-defined networking solutions. (Mosaic is the name of ADTRAN’s family of SD-Access platforms.)

“Through the program, ADTRAN is providing operators around the globe a single point of reference for best-of-breed SD-Access and NFV solutions,” the company explained at the time. “As a one-stop shop of uniquely vetted solutions, the Mosaic Alliance will save network operators the time and resources required to assess and substantiate vendors and offerings best suited for their open network demands, while reducing introduction risks posed to the operator’s business.”

Also in August, ADTRAN came out with an R-CORD solution called SD-Access Accelerator. R-CORD stands for Residential-Central Office Re-Architected-as-a-Datacenter. It’s part of the ADTRAN Mosaic open source architecture. And it enables service providers to customize and incubate SDN in different operating environments with a minimal upfront investment. (CORD architecture combines the cloud, commodity infrastructure, NFV, open building blocks, and SDN to bring the agility of the cloud and the economies of scale found in the data center to service provider networks. That spans from the equipment at the home or office customer premises, to the access part of the network, to the telco’s central office.)