Telecom network operator MTN Group has become the first mobile service provider in the world to deploy and test the open optical packet transport platform called Voyager.
A part of the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) initiative, launched in February 2016, the project aims to reduce costs and increase the speed of rolling out internet connectivity.
The roll out of the Voyager technology platform — promoted by social media giant Facebook — will enable telecom operators to install a network at a lower cost and offer cost effective connectivity to customers.
MTN, a part of the Open Optical Packet Transport project group, worked with the TIP community to field test the Voyager technology in MTN data centers between 14th Avenue in Fairlands and Soccer City in Soweto in October. The test results showed the highest performance with zero packet (signal) loss and potential for significant overall cost savings.
“As MTN, we are excited about the possibility of bringing more than 19Tbps of connectivity to the community, using open optical networking technology. Open platforms move away from the vendors’ proprietary platforms which usually come at a huge cost,” said Navi Naidoo, group network technology officer at MTN.
Hans-Juergen Schmidtke, director of Engineering at Facebook, said that Voyager’s tests show that open and collaborative approaches can increase the speed of network and implementation, and represent an important step in the development of an open system that will increase the efficiency of fiber networks.
