NEC Corporation and Netcracker Technology announced that Etisalat has implemented NEC/Netcracker’s full-stack Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) solution for the deployment of its residential virtual customer premises equipment (vCPE). Etisalat is the first communications service provider to leverage vCPE in the Middle East and Africa.

Etisalat is the Middle East’s leading communications provider, offering a wide range of 3G, 4G and fiber-to-the-home services to more than 142 million customers across the region. This deployment is part of Etisalat’s larger cloud initiative, called the Sahaab program, which will help it reduce the time needed to bring innovative services to market and enable the delivery of a better digital experience for its customers.

As part of the initiative, Etisalat is using NEC/Netcracker’s full-stack Network-as-a-Service solution comprised with Self-Service Portals, Service Orchestration and MANO offerings, as well as security virtual network functions. The solution will enable Etisalat to generate new revenue by providing a wider range of value-added services to residential customers.

The NaaS solution will help Etisalat reduce costs and create a platform to offer innovative services and open up new revenue streams.

• • Through the use of NaaS and virtualisation capabilities that are hardware-independent, Etisalat will be able to move away from proprietary network hardware platforms and save on CapEx. By virtualising customer premises functions and moving them into the network, Etisalat will be able to cut down on truck rolls and mitigate technician costs.
• • The NaaS platform also creates the foundation to introduce new services faster and in a much more flexible way, enabling greater segmentation and targeting of residential customers and providing greater control and usability to Etisalat’s customers.

“We are excited to kick off our virtualisation program with NEC and Netcracker,” said Esmaeel Alhammadi, senior vice president of Network Development at Etisalat. “NEC/Netcracker’s NaaS solution will help us generate new revenue and deliver new offerings using value-added services, leading to a better overall customer experience.”

“We are honored to have partnered with Etisalat to launch the first commercial vCPE solutions in the Middle East and Africa,” said Shigeru Okuya, senior vice president at NEC Corporation. “Our solution will help Etisalat automate the operation and maintenance of its physical and virtual network infrastructure, while generating new revenue streams in the residential market.”

“Etisalat is demonstrating market-leading vision and execution in the deployment of network functions virtualisation across its new service offerings,” said Aloke Tusnial, CTO of SDN/NFV at Netcracker. “We are excited to help Etisalat bring new, innovative solutions to market faster with our Ecosystem 2.0 program and be a strategic partner in executing its vision.”

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