MEF and Leading Wholesale Operators Announce Project to Accelerate Ethernet Service Interconnectivity

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- GEN14 -- MEF announces a new project to define standardized Ethernet Interconnect Points for the thousands of current and future operators of Carrier Ethernet services around the globe. Ethernet Interconnect Points comprise all aspects of an Ethernet connection point between two operators - including requirements relating to location, facilities, ENNI, wholesale service alignment and business process alignment. In the US alone, Ethernet Interconnect Points will replace many thousands of TDM meet points that have been deployed over the last four decades since the introduction of T1. 

"This industry effort to standardize local Ethernet Meet Point interconnections among carriers is a big step towards providing a network infrastructure capable of supporting an all IP environment by 2020," said Mike Lesher, Assistant Vice President, Product Marketing Management, AT&T Mobile & Business Solutions. "Standardization will facilitate the deployment of Carrier Ethernet coverage to all businesses, no matter their network provider. AT&T is proud to be one of the leaders of this important MEF project."

To summarize the challenges of today's wholesale Ethernet connection arrangements, service providers seeking to provide end-to-end Carrier Ethernet services over network segments not within their franchise for regulatory, cost or other reasons, need to purchase wholesale Ethernet services from suppliers and partners of every size and type to complete those missing segments. A MEF-defined ENNI is the standard interface between operators but there are many questions and requirements that need to be resolved in order to enable effective business processes between the two operators, and to enable end-to-end management and troubleshooting of the service across the connection.

"Consensus among Carrier Ethernet providers is important for the successful definition of standardized Ethernet Meet Points," said Matthew Duckworth, director of Ethernet product marketing, Verizon Global Wholesale and a co-initiator of the MEF project. "Verizon supports MEF's efforts to create the framework that will enable the industry to achieve consensus and help accelerate the transition from TDM to IP-based networks."

The Ethernet Interconnect Points Initiative was formed earlier this year by leading US telcos including AT&T, Frontier, Verizon and Windstream. Having identified the key challenges, the initiative is in the process of being formalized into a MEF project, and it is expected that there will be broad participation from many of the 130+ service provider members of the MEF in this activity. The project is expected to publish the EIP Phase 1 Implementation Guideline in 2015. 

"The work of this MEF-facilitated initiative has already clarified some very important technical and process-related aspects of interconnecting to provide universal coverage across multiple franchises", said Todd Wells, SVP of Revenue Strategy for Frontier Communications. "This improved understanding will undoubtedly accelerate availability of faster Ethernet-based services to US subscribers."

"Standardization of Ethernet meet points is critical to driving greater adoption of Carrier Ethernet in the marketplace. Windstream is dedicated to helping the MEF on this important industry initiative," said Randy Nicklas, executive vice president of engineering and chief technology officer for Windstream.

As part of the ongoing marketing of its work, the EIP Initiative will be introduced at the Verizon Partner Conference at GEN14 on Monday, November 17th, 2014 in Washington, DC. More information on the event can be found at www.gen14.com.

Those wholesale Carrier Ethernet operators who envision selling their wholesale services to Carrier Ethernet service providers via standardized Ethernet Interconnect Points are encouraged to contact the MEF at [email protected] for more information.

About the MEF

The MEF is the defining body and driving force behind the global market for Carrier Ethernet. MEF's flagship work is CE 2.0, including specifications and related certification programs for services, equipment and professionals (MEF-CECP 2.0). An industry alliance consisting of more than 225 member organizations, the MEF operates through a powerful collaborative framework of service providers, network solutions suppliers and other stakeholders to achieve its CE 2.0 development and globalization objectives.

Building on thirteen years of success and widespread adoption of CE 2.0, MEF is now focused on defining Lifecycle Service Orchestration with APIs for existing network, NFV and SDN implementations enabling Agile, Assured and Orchestrated Network as a Service.

For more information about the MEF please visit www.MetroEthernetForum.org

About MEF's GEN14 Event

The MEF will be showcasing its Third Network vision, including Proof of Concept demonstrations, at the industry-wide Global Ethernet Networking 2014 (GEN14) event taking place on 17 – 20 November 2014 in Washington, DC. GEN14 is the must-attend networking event of the year for professionals involved in the CE services & technology industry. GEN14 will bring together 115 CE, SDN, NFV, and Cloud expert speakers from across the globe.

GEN14 currently has more than 1,050 conference registrants representing 350+ companies and organizations from 36 countries. This includes professionals from retail, wholesale, and mobile service providers; data center providers; cloud service providers; mid to large businesses; government and defense organizations; utilities; network technology vendors; press; analysts and investors. For GEN14 registration and other information, see www.gen14.com.

SOURCE MEF

Related Links

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