Network Automation

Telefónica Deutschland leverages Blue Planet for network automation

Sept. 22, 2020

The German communications services provider is pairing the network automation capabilities under its iFusion initiative with a partially disaggregated multi-vendor optical network architecture.

Stephen Hardy

Telefónica Deutschland is adding software-defined networking (SDN) enabled network automation using software from Blue Planet, the division of Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) says. The German communications services provider is pairing the network automation capabilities under its iFusion initiative with a partially disaggregated multi-vendor optical network architecture.

Telefónica Deutschland serves private and business customers via a total of 50.4 million customer connections (as of the end of 2019) and is looking for improved means of delivering, managing, and maintaining its services. The company has decided a multi-vendor approach is an important catalyst toward this goal. “Telefónica is moving away from legacy single-vendor platforms to a model combining best-of-breed solutions from multiple vendors, enabling us to maintain diversity in our network and avoid depending on one vendor,” explained Cayetano Carbajo Martín, global director of technology, Telefónica GCTIO. “In Germany, Blue Planet’s software executes our SDN program to enable not only multivendor transport but also automation of our network.”

Blue Planet says its Multi-Domain Service Orchestration (MDSO) software will enable Telefónica Deutschland to rapidly create, deploy, and automate end-to-end service delivery. The open Rest application programming interfaces (APIs) from MDSO simplify integration with other components of Telefónica Deutschland’s Operations Support System (OSS) to align the network with the needs of the various applications. The upgraded network utilizes open standard models, including the transport application programming interface (T-API) and OpenConfig.

“Telefónica Deutschland is taking strategic steps to support its users’ demands for 5G, cloud services, artificial intelligence and more. Blue Planet’s intelligent automation software differentiates, disrupts, and transforms Telefónica Deutschland’s network to adapt and deliver measurable business outcomes,” asserted Rick Hamilton, senior vice president of Blue Planet.

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About the Author

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.