Today, from a communications perspective, the landscape is fundamentally changing. Market dynamics associated with the changing enterprise services mix, 5G, cloud, as well as residential and data center connectivity, are creating new use cases and exciting revenue growth opportunities for service providers. Enterprises are accelerating their digital transformation and moving toward Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) and cloud applications, including Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN), to reduce costs.
The need to evolve the network to capitalize on new opportunities is driving IP network modernization, but more specifically, the IP/Optical convergence. There are both hardware and software tactics to IP/Optical convergence, and some or all of these can be employed to achieve network simplification; and many companies are already choosing one of these forms and adding it to their digital repertoire. In fact, according to a recent study, 87 percent of providers view IP/Optical convergence as important or critical for their next-generation networks.
The growth of the IP/Optical convergence is due in part to the myriad of benefits the technology has to offer for organizations. More streamlined operation across IP and Optical layers, full convergence of IP and Optical functions including a common control plane, and multi-layer optimization using software optimization/automation are just some of the advantages that have businesses in virtually every industry searching for IP/Optical convergence solutions that best suits their needs.
Today, Ribbon Communications (News - Alert) Inc, a global provider of IP Optical networking solutions to service providers, enterprises, and critical infrastructure sectors, announced that Fort Morgan, Colorado-based Viaero Wireless and Viaero Fiber Networks, have selected Ribbon’s comprehensive suite of integrated IP and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) solutions.
“We are extremely pleased to support Viaero and their rapidly expanding fiber network,” said Sam Bucci, EVP & General Manager, IP Optical Networks Business Unit. “The Ribbon integrated IP Optical solutions have the multi-service edge capabilities required to support 5G X-haul and broadband backhaul, helping give Viaero the improved speed and efficiency they need, as well as the agility and performance required to capture and grow new revenue streams.”
Ribbon’s solution suite, which includes Neptune (MPLS transport), Apollo (DWDM transport), and Muse (Domain Control), helps provide Viaero with an IP and optical solution, enabling significantly increased network capacity in an efficient manner. The solution deployed by Viaero also supports 1 Gigabit (G) and 10G aggregation over 200G optical transport that is scalable to 400G. In addition to its advanced support of Layer 1 through Layer 3 transport, Ribbon IP Optical solutions also provide network performance monitoring, analytics; fiber health management with an automated (Optical Time Domain Reflectometry) OTDR; and service level agreement (SLA) management.
“We are committed to delivering reliable, affordable services that keep our customers connected regardless of where they are within the world,” said Ron Christensen, President of Viaero Fiber Networks. “Enhancing our fiber transport with Ribbon allows us to dramatically increase our network capacity and expand our offerings and services and will provide Layer 1 through Layer 3 transport along with a single network management solution.”
IP/Optical convergence is predicted to remain a strategic topic of discussion for many service providers as they evaluate the benefits of this architecture evolution. However, the path to IP/Optical convergence and realizing the above benefits will be dependent on a service provider’s current network reality and environment. But regardless, it’s clear that IP/Optical convergence is set to play a key role in IP network modernization moving forward, holding the promise of more cost-efficient, resilient, and unified networks.
Edited by
Luke Bellos
