In a BTE panel discussion titled “Carrier Ethernet & the Cloud,” participating executives shared their views on Carrier Ethernet services, the call for rapid progress to support flexible bandwidth models and the need for telecom network operators to update edge infrastructure and service delivery processes. Our Vice President of Product and Technology Development, Tom Savard, Ph.D., spoke about the importance of flexible edge infrastructure and the end-user experience for cloud applications. The opportunities and risks can be addressed to a large extent by mobile apps, bandwidth on demand, and SDS automation.

At our BTE exhibit booth, we demonstrated a new mobile application that extends the capabilities of our Converge™ service management solution to a wirelessly connected smart device. The app allows dynamic programmability of the network through a complete, fully integrated northbound REST API and gives customers the ability to reallocate bandwidth using an iPad or other mobile devices.

This means, for example, that a service provider could allow end users to reallocate service priorities and adjust bandwidth on-demand, without any service interruption.

We believe that this is the direction in which the telecom industry is going. There is great demand for simplification of provisioning and flexibility, not only for service providers, but also for their end customers. The simplicity of focused apps and the power of a complete API that extends the capabilities of our Converge™ Service Management Solution can make a huge impact in providing the services that business customers want today.