Nokia today launched its fully open and programmable fixed access network slicing solution.
Delivering more than service level slicing, the solution enables operators to scale to a virtually unlimited number of discrete network slices that can be independently operated, for example to run 5G mobile transport, wholesale or business services.
The new solution is built around Nokia’s cloud-native software platform Altiplano and open standards. It allows operators to establish full control and autonomy for each slice they manage, plus determine the performance metrics for the network and services they deliver to customers.
Software Defined Access Networks (SDAN) are changing the way network service providers build, operate and commercialize their high-speed fixed broadband networks. Allowing the network to be partitioned into virtual slices, operators are using SDAN to deliver new services and connect more users, segments and entities that would otherwise require parallel networks.
Nokia’s programmable slicing solution uses open interfaces and YANG data models to create a virtual slice that looks, feels and operates just like a physical network. Each service provider runs its own dedicated controller with a dedicated view of their slice of the network.
This provides operators with the control and flexibility to deliver differentiated broadband services in a multi-vendor network environment. Equipment from different vendors can sit alongside each other, in different slices or on the same slice.
The solution also makes it easier to share the physical network by enabling operators to automate challenging process such as rules, regulations and multi-vendor integration.
Once deployed, Nokia’s Fixed Network Slicing solution can help services providers move toward a fully autonomous Network as a Service (NaaS) model, allowing them to:
* Converge internal organizations and attract co-investment partners to improve capital efficiency and accelerate time-to-market.
* Quickly develop new strategies and create service offerings that better monetize their access networks.
* Enter a new business area, such as vertical markets and enterprise services, which can be served from the same access infrastructure as residential customers.
* Accelerate 5G deployments by configuring a slice to meet the SLA requirements for 5G anyhaul, negating the need for a dedicated backhaul/fronthaul network.
* Optimize multi-operator vectoring for G.fast deployments in a fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) environment.
As a pioneer in this field, Nokia has been showcasing Fixed Access Network Slicing to service providers around the globe. Nokia was also actively involved in the work that led to the publication of TR-370 on Fixed Access Network Sharing (FANS) by the Broadband Forum and is currently involved in the specification of the YANG modules that are used to achieve FANS.
Benoit Felten, chief research officer at Diffraction Analysis, says: ” Operators are rethinking how they build, operate and monetize their high-speed broadband infrastructure. Fixed access slicing has the potential to change the game — not just for enhancing existing business models but also to help some deliver, better, lower cost services than what was previously possible.
“Nokia’s Fixed Access Network Solution can help bring service providers one step closer to achieving these benefits, providing the control and flexibility needed to deliver differentiated broadband services. I believe that adoption of fixed network slicing will rapidly change the landscape in the fixed broadband market, and those who are late to join will undoubtedly suffer.”
Federico Guillen, president of Nokia Fixed Networks, comments: “I believe that virtual network slicing will form the basis for everything the fixed access industry does going forward. It can provide a more elegant and powerful way to monetize ultra-broadband deployments, help accelerate the delivery of new services, spread investment risk, reduce complexity and unlock new business opportunities that allow service providers to better serve their end-customers.”