Telefonica Deploys Nokia Virtualized Service Router in Live Network

Telefonica Business Solutions, a leading provider of a wide range of integrated communication solutions for the B2B market, has deployed Nokia’s virtualized router technology in a live network for an improved delivery of Telefonica’s global telecommunication services. In particular, Telefonica is augmenting its IP infrastructure with the deployment of virtualized Provider Edge routers (vPE) to increase its network reach, accelerate deployment of its enterprise virtual private network (VPN) services and extend its service offerings to new points of presence within Spain and to new countries.

The new technology will expand Telefonica’s opportunity to offer extended reach and improved connectivity to its customers. The deployment of the Nokia Virtualized Service Router (VSR) in a Provider Edge (PE) application for fixed networks represents a significant step forward in the evolution of telco cloud infrastructure.

Telefonica can now rapidly deploy and configure vPEs to extend their VPN service offerings to new off-net sites and locations. In addition, this technology will allow Telefonica to deploy new on-net points of presence (PoPs) to efficiently serve areas with lower customer density. The introduction of vPE routers will complement the deployment of existing Nokia Service Routers and improve time to market while reducing operational expenses.

Nokia’s virtualized portfolio was analyzed by the European Advanced Networking Test Center (EANTC), an international group known for vendor-neutral network performance testing. The results showed that Nokia continues to lead in the area of Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), setting a new industry benchmark for outstanding performance, scalability and resiliency. The results of these tests are available here.

Pedro López, Telefonica Business Solutions B2B Customer Operations Director, said: “We have deployed and integrated one virtual PE in the International Backbone of Telefonica. This is one of the most critical projects in the core of the network that will help us to offer enhanced network services.”

Sri Reddy, General Manager for Nokia’s IP routing business, said:When multinational companies want to extend their VPNs – or add capacity to those already deployed – speed, performance and reliability are all essential. Telefonica has taken a leadership role in virtualization, and with the certification and deployment of the Nokia VSR, they are well positioned to expand the range and reach of their VPN services and address their customers’ evolving needs.”

Javier Gavilán, Telefonica’s Global CTO Planning and Technology Director, said:We have been working together with Nokia in our NFV Reference Implementation Lab for some time in order to advance the availability of virtualized solutions and, in fact, the Virtualized Service Router was successfully tested in 2015 and the current deployment is UNICA-ready as part of the overall strategy of the company.”