MARCH 24, 2008 -- To help carriers meet fiber deployment challenges and reduce both capital and operational expenses, NEC (search for NEC) has entered into an agreement to resell VPIsystems' (search for VPIsystems) OnePlan network planning system, to be branded as SpectralWave ONP. Carriers will be able to purchase this customized version of OnePlan, specific to NEC products, to optimally plan and route their new and evolving networks, as well as create detailed design reports, including bills of materials and equipment information, say NEC representatives. The OnePlan system will also allow these carriers to conduct extensive what-if analyses to not only discover path impairments, but also recommend design corrections to prevent failures.
Optical networking is notoriously costly, due to the expenses associated with physically laying the fiber. Recent market research indicates that laying fiber-optic cable costs between $10,000 and $70,000 per mile, depending on specific location. For this reason, it is crucial that carriers optimally plan and design their networks in advance of execution and continually update those plans to account for shifting needs during execution. This approach will ensure they effectively provision both fiber and equipment and give customers the highest quality of experience (QoE) without over-building or digging even an inch too far.
"OnePlan can do in minutes what would normally have taken days using homegrown methods, which just can't handle the size and complexity of today's optical networks," explains Masaru Nishino, manager, Optical Network Division, NEC Corporation." This solution will not only save our customers time, but also money by helping them weigh different cost/performance benefits when choosing and provisioning equipment."
"NEC is one of the industry's most forward-thinking providers of optical systems and is taking the steps to ensure that its customers can plan and build optical networks that far exceed their expectations for service delivery and ROI," adds Hank Firey, president and CEO of VPIsystems. "They searched worldwide for a company that showed a clear expertise in optical networking and ultimately chose VPIsystems based on our demonstrated leadership in network planning."
NEC is planning to extend its use of the OnePlan platform in the coming months and is currently evaluating further customizations and integrations to make OnePlan an integral part of the company's existing optical network management offering.
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