Brazil’s Telefonica Vivo is deploying a simplified and automated, 5G-ready IP network for its converged mobile and fixed networks as part of the Fusion Network Project in Brazil using solutions from Cisco and NEC Corporation.
Cisco and NEC have been closely collaborating in Brazil for over 10 years and now are a part of a Global System Integrator Agreement (GSIA) signed in 2020, enabling them to seamlessly deploy an automated transport 5G-ready network for Telefonica Vivo.
Telefonica designed the Fusion Network Project as a platform for incorporating services into a single network infrastructure, offering advanced communications services and transforming customer experience. Leveraging the power of automation, the project aims to offer a more agile, scalable, and flexible network with improved reliability for both residential users and enterprises in the 5G era.
As defined in the Fusion Network Project, Cisco and NEC will work together to optimise Telefonica Vivo's total cost of ownership (TCO) and increase business agility by simplifying its network architecture and operations, converging mobile and fixed networks, and automating multi-layer networks across packet, optical and microwave domains. In addition, Segment Routing IPv6 will be implemented to enable a unified architecture with network slicing capabilities.
The simplification and automation of a multi-domain, multi-layer converged network coupled with segment routing will increase Telefonica Vivo's network scalability and flexibility as it prepares to launch 5G, while the Fusion Network Architecture will help the operator to design and deliver new services.
As part of the agreement, Cisco will provide network equipment including ASR 9000 and NCS 540 series routers for IP transport, Cisco Crosswork Network Controller as the multi-vendor SDN solution, and Cisco Crosswork Hierarchical Controller to enable multi-vendor and multi- layer automation within the Fusion Network domain. NEC will serve as the key network integrator and provide local engineering capabilities with 5G xHaul transformation services to deliver a scalable migration for thousands of nodes.
"We are pleased to enable Telefonica Vivo in providing faster, more seamless connections through a more modern, simplified network," said Shaun McCarthy, Vice President of Worldwide Sales, Mass Infrastructure Group, Cisco.
Mayuko Tatewaki, General Manager, Service Provider Solutions Division, NEC Corporation, added: "with Cisco's trusted solutions combined into NEC's 5G xHaul Automation Ecosystem and further extended by our network integration capabilities globally and regionally, we are confident the implementation of the next-gen network will help deploy immersive 5G services in Brazil."
