Virtualisation reaches the access network

Virtualization reached a critical part of the telecommunications network recently, when ASSIA CEO Dr. John Cioffi unveiled the company’s unique SDAN (Software Defined Access Network) solution designed for service providers globally, across all technologies and all vendor equipment types, from DSL to the latest fiber access.
ASSIA’s SDAN initiative is the industry’s first delivery of virtualization into access – taking virtualization to the edge of networks and complementing current activities in the core and aggregation networks. “Access is critical to the future and must not become a bottleneck in the era of NFV and SDN,” Dr. Cioffi told his audience on the opening day at the Broadband World Forum – Europe’s leading broadband event.

“SDAN gives service providers a level of control never seen before and optimization of their access networks in a way that traditional hardware-based methods cannot possibly match,” he added. The ASSIA solution works for both service providers owning and running their own network infrastructure and also for virtual providers who share networks with others. ASSIA helps make networks in both scenarios run faster and smoother – enabling content and applications to be delivered much more effectively and reliably to the consumer. In the multiple service provider environment, ASSIA software actually creates virtual networks for each service provider using a shared infrastructure.

Dr. Cioffi said that two un-named European service providers are already using SDAN to improve their access capabilities. “We are not talking futures here, this is not something we’d like the market to aspire to – ASSIA’s SDAN is here today – working in Europe – and making a big difference as service providers address the challenge of getting previously undreamed of volumes of content delivered into the home or office environment,” he stressed. “Not only are they achieving it but they are doing it quickly, reliably, and with total controlling of their operations in the process. This is the only way forward for competitive speed-increasing networks today and tomorrow.”

Additionally, the SDAN initiative includes ASSIA’s CloudCheck service, which enables the service provider to know the end-to-end performance of the consumer’s devices and broadband services. CloudCheck also gives consumers the ability to evaluate the service they receive and to optimize their broadband experience. This can be achieved regardless of whether the delivery technology is copper-based or fiber-based.

In the optical domain, ASSIA is supplementing its SDAN initiative with the announcement last week of Optical Network Expresse (ON-Expresse™), which supports Fiber-to-the-Basement (FTTB), Fiber-to-the-Distribution-Point (FTTdp), and Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) deployments. ON-Expresse, an extension of its flagship DSL Expresse® network management and optimization product, greatly simplifies deployment, operation and service assurance for access networks using Passive Optical Network (PON) technology.

“Service providers are investing aggressively in new technologies that deliver ultra-fast broadband access over hybrid fiber and copper networks,” said Dr. Cioffi. “ON-Expresse lowers deployment costs by preventing defects during installation, while reducing problem-resolution time and improving dispatch productivity with expert recommendations for call centers and technicians. Additionally, ON-Expresse prevents service degradation with proactive congestion analysis and reporting.
“Our SDAN initiative, combined with our new ON-Expresse product software, means that we are covering all of the technologies possible. We give service providers a unique full view across the network, which we believe no-one can match,” Dr. Cioffi concluded.