Collaborative work is a big step forward for accelerating service delivery
over a more efficient ecosystem of connected networks
WASHINGTON and LOS ANGELES — Sept. 6, 2017 — ATIS and MEF are pleased to announce the release of a new, jointly developed specification that defines the process for ordering Carrier Ethernet services on a global basis. This standard, Ethernet Ordering Technical Specification: Business Requirements and Use Cases, is an important step toward creating a worldwide ecosystem of automated and interconnected networks that deliver agile, assured, and orchestrated services. This specification supports requirements defined in the LSO (Lifecycle Service Orchestration) Reference Architecture and Framework (MEF 55) for ordering services over the LSO Sonata interface that relates to inter-provider service orchestration. Information contained in the new specification will be used by both buyer and seller ordering systems for developing automated LSO API systems.
“This new joint specification transforms the Ethernet ordering process globally, thus enabling faster delivery of interconnected networks,” said ATIS President and CEO Susan Miller. “It makes the ordering process easier for customers while also advancing service provider business imperatives in this area. ATIS is proud to deliver another of our contributions from our collaboration with MEF.”
“MEF is pleased to work with ATIS to deliver a new ordering specification that will improve inter-provider operational efficiencies, enable service providers to be more responsive to customer demands, and help drive market growth on a worldwide basis,” said Kevin Vachon, COO, MEF.
The Ethernet Ordering Technical Specification focuses on business interactions associated with inter-carrier ordering of Access E-Line and Standalone UNI products, including use cases and specific MEF-defined attributes needed to support product ordering for each use case. Implementation details will be published separately in MEF’s LSO Sonata Interface Profile Specification for Ethernet Ordering that is on track to be released later this year.
“Today’s process is very provider-specific, and inter-carrier ordering is done either through spreadsheets or one-off solutions,” said Dawn Kaplan, MEF Operations Area Co-Director and Solutions Architect – CoE OSS, Ericsson. “Defining a standardized process for ordering Carrier Ethernet products across service provider partner domains is critical to significantly streamlining the buying/selling process and thus enabling improved delivery time of interconnected networks. This specification is the first step in documenting an international consensus-based process that supports the entire order lifecycle. The joint team will also be publishing additional specifications that provide implementable APIs that align with this specification.”
Letty Walker, Senior Lead Analyst, OSS & Technical Support, CenturyLink, ATIS OBF OS Co-Chair and Joint ATIS-MEF Co-Lead adds, “It is a wonderful opportunity to be part of a team that is able to collaborate in the development of the Ethernet Ordering Technical Specification. Given that ATIS has such broad ordering experience throughout North America, I feel that partnering with our MEF counterparts has led to a collaboration that will provide the framework for a unified platform defining requirements for Ethernet ordering throughout the entire international telecommunications community.”
ATIS and MEF are continuing in their joint efforts to enhance the international Ethernet Ordering process and plan further releases to incorporate additional MEF-defined services.
The Ethernet Ordering Technical Specification can be downloaded on the MEF Technical Specifications page or in the ATIS Document Center.
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About MEF
An industry association of 210+ member companies, MEF is enabling service providers to create a global ecosystem of networks that deliver agile, assured, and orchestrated services for the digital economy and hyper-connected world. These services provide an on-demand, cloud-centric experience with user and application-directed control over network resources and service capabilities. They are delivered over automated, virtualized, and interconnected networks powered by LSO (Lifecycle Service Orchestration), SDN, and NFV. MEF produces LSO frameworks, open LSO APIs, software-driven reference implementations, service specifications, and certification programs. MEF’s work will enable automated delivery of standardized wavelength, Carrier Ethernet, IP, SD-WAN, and Layer 4-7 services across multiple provider networks. For more information: https://mef.net/.
MEF is the host of the MEF17 (www.MEF17.com) global networking event that will be held 13-16 November 2017 in Orlando, Florida, USA.
MEF Contact:
Kevin Perez-Allen
Witz Communications for MEF
+1 510-748-8200
MEF@witzcommunications.com
About ATIS
As a leading technology and solutions development organization, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) brings together the top global ICT companies to advance the industry’s most pressing business priorities. ATIS’ 150 member companies are currently working to address 5G, cyber security, IoT, the all-IP transition, network functions virtualization, smart cities, big data analytics, cloud services, device solutions, emergency services, network evolution, quality of service, billing support, operations, and much more. These priorities follow a fast-track development lifecycle – from design and innovation through standards, specifications, requirements, business use cases, software toolkits, open source solutions, and interoperability testing.
ATIS is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ATIS is the North American Organizational Partner for the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a founding Partner of the oneM2M global initiative, a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as well as a member of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL). For more information, visit www.atis.org.
