The PoC is the first such collaboration between Colt and Proximus and has scoped and tested inter-carrier APIs aiming to make it easier and faster for Colt to integrate and automate their end-to-end services.
For Proximus, MEF E-access is a key step towards an ecosystem that allows for effortless national connectivity.
Through such collaboration, Proximus says it is developing customer-centric and innovative solutions. The firm will turn into a full digital service provider by adding extra features such as Universal CPE (uCPE) and Virtual Network Functions (VNF).
“This exciting Proof of Concept with Proximus has explored ways to introduce a greater level of digitalisation and automation in global network access sourcing,” said Peter Coppens, VP of infrastructure and connectivity solutions at Colt Technology Services.
“It means that our NaaS platform can now expand seamlessly across carrier boundaries. Ultimately our Enterprise and Carrier customers benefit from a faster, simpler and fully-automated quoting, ordering and delivery experience helping them to stay connected and benefit from the enormous potential and power of the digital universe.”
During the trial, network services were provisioned between the UK and Belgium, enabled by Proximus’ new Wholesale E-access service and Colt’s on-demand NaaS platform.
This allowed NaaS-to-NaaS control using a programmatic API-to-API interface between the separate network architectures, proving that SDN-managed services can be set up across multiple networks in a fully automated way. They can also be managed and flexed in near-real time.
Geert Standaert, network and wholesale lead at Proximus said: "This Proof of concept together with Colt reflects our ambition to embrace innovation through open ecosystems.
“At Proximus, we are proud to introduce E-Access, a new wholesale MEF-standardised solution, unique in Belgium, that redefines connectivity and allows telecom companies to establish seamless connectivity with their end-users at the click of a button. Such automated connection is only the beginning and a step towards a more efficient, sustainable and digitalised world."
