Cisco and Rakuten Mobile, Inc. say that the Japanese mobile services provider will employ Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6) and Cisco Routed Optical Networking technology to enable the delivery of 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) services to enterprise customers. Rakuten Mobile will introduce SRv6 micro-segments, an extension to the SRv6 network programming model, to help enable future 5G standalone services. Cisco Customer Experience (CX) will plan and implement the overall architecture and design.
The transition to SRv6 will help increase network resiliency and support a wider range of Service Level Agreements (SLAs), according to the companies. The use of Routed Optical Networking, which will see the implementation of coherent pluggable optics into network routers, will improve automation and enable Rakuten Mobile to reduce services deployment from 100 days to 40, reduce power consumption by nearly 30%, and increase profitability, the partners add.
“Reimagining mobile networking is at the very heart of Rakuten Mobile’s strategy, and our decision to go full-speed ahead on SRv6 and Cisco Routed Optical Networking demonstrates our effort to take advantage of technology innovation at every layer of the stack,” said Tareq Amin, CTO at Rakuten Mobile. “We knew that Cisco would walk in lock-step with us as we worked through each phase needed to implement this new technology and align it to our business goals.”
“Cisco and Rakuten Mobile are on a path to profoundly change the way network infrastructure is built, in order to connect as many people as possible to quality internet services,” said Jonathan Davidson, executive vice president and general manager, Mass-Scale Infrastructure Group, Cisco. “Rakuten Mobile continues to mark important milestones to take its network to the next-level, and together we are showcasing the blueprint for the internet for the future to support our world of wireless and cloud-powered experiences.”
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.