OREANDA-NEWS. NEC Corporation and Telefonica have announced an agreement to launch this October the first ever trial in Brazil to virtualise part of the equipment installed on a customer's premises (vCPE). Through the telecom provider's global operating business unit, Telefonica Global Resources, the CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) solution will simplify the home equipment installation process and, by default, Telefonica's broadband network access and connectivity.

Within the framework of the recent strategic partnership announced by both companies in this field, Telefonica and NEC will bring together their technological capabilities and collaborate in the development of vCPE. The solution, based on a prototype developed by Telefonica I+D, with contributions and integration by NEC, enables certain IP functions to be shifted away from the residential gateways (the equipment installed in the customer's home) towards the carrier's own network. As a result, end users will experience rapid service deployment and improved network operation and maintenance benefits. To achieve this, Telefonica and NEC will be conducting a series of field trials in Brazil, where Telefonica provides broadband access services to millions of homes and businesses with the objective of having a solution ready for deployment by July of 2014.

As demand for Telefonica's broadband access services continue to grow, the introduction of the CPE solution will notably enhance and simplify service operation and maintenance by virtualising and moving functions from the equipment installed in the customer's home to Telefonica's network.

By minimising dependence on hardware, virtualisation will bring considerable benefits both to the management of the network and to the end user. This means that network management is expected to become easier and more flexible, thereby guaranteeing greater control and security of the consumer electronics connected to the network. It will also reduce any possible incidents and breakdowns. Overall, it will speed up the deployment of new services in the home over the next few years, reduce time to market and enhance the customer's connectivity experience.

The vCPE forms part of the "NEC Telecom Carrier SDN Solutions", a portfolio of new and innovative solutions based on Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) technologies. This way, NEC combines technologies, products and services that enable the provision of solutions for the further development of the international carrier's network and business needs.