Deutsche Telekom is using a new NIMS (Next Generation IP Multimedia Subsystem) platform to cloudify IP-based voice services.
Through NIMS, Deutsche Telekom aims to eventually control 18 million connections centrally from its data centres in Germany.
The NIMS platform accepts fixed network calls and delivers them to the right place. It uses virtualised network functions (VNFs) for faster operation, updates and allocation of voice capacity.
The platform is also based on open standards and interfaces, allowing infrastructure and applications from different manufacturers to be combined and individual blocks to be exchanged more easily.
“Revolutionary”
“This approach is almost revolutionary,” said Walter Goldenits, Head of Technology, Telekom Deutschland. “Within a few months, we have managed to create a completely new system and put it into operation. With state-of-the-art working methods, motivated partners and the know-how of our colleagues, we have taken a decisive step into the future of automated and software-based telecommunications.”
In a pilot phase for the platform, Telekom technicians successfully tested the handling of more than 100 million voice calls, both within the Telekom network and across interconnections.
The platform roll-out will continue in stages over the coming months with support from technology partners including Juniper Networks, Red Hat, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lenovo, Mavenir and Metaswitch.
Telekom expects to add more partners as the demand for services grows.