Subscribers want digital services that are fast, scalable, and reliable so they can access the content or features they want without interruption or frustration. Speed is important because slow or lagging services are vexing and lead to poor user experiences. They also expect digital services to be able to handle the increased demand without slowing down or crashing. Lastly, they want digital services that are dependable and don't experience frequent outages or downtime.

Because of these factors, network operators support fiber-based infrastructure. Tele Columbus, a fiber network operator that reaches more than 3 million homes in Germany, is one of those operators that actively supports the fiber-based infrastructure and broadband internet expansion in Germany.

However, to remain profitable, relevant and differentiated in a growingly competitive market, Tele Columbus decided it was time to move from its existing network architecture to an open architecture. The reasons for this move included gaining flexibility, increasing agility, optimizing user quality of experience, and improving ROI and total cost of ownership.

Tele Columbus turned to Juniper Networks and NEC to create a converged interconnect network, or CIN, that is built on Juniper’s Cloud Metro infrastructure and NEC’s (News - Alert) xHaul transformation services that will converge all its services onto a single, high-performance platform.

The decision of Juniper’s Cloud Metro to create a CIN enables consumer and business services to be managed and delivered more cost-effectively from a single infrastructure.

“Our Cloud Metro solution is uniquely designed to overcome the overlapping pressures of service scalability, user experience demands, environmental considerations and operational cost efficiencies that are faced by today’s service providers,” said Brendan Gibbs, Senior Vice President of Automated WAN Solutions, Juniper Networks (News - Alert).

Likewise, NEC's xHaul transformation services are tailored to meet Tele Columbus’s business requirements. NEC xHaul Transformation Services cover everything that is needed to ensure optimum performance and reliability in a multi-vendor, multi-domain environment with expert customization and integration at every step.

The services are based on its CoE’s global telecom expertise combined with local engineering support for Tele Columbus throughout design, deployment and operation (including training and optimization efforts) to ensure that the introduction of the new platform enhances their service quality and competitiveness.

“The validation of Juniper’s Cloud Metro in our CoE lab has proven it as a robust, scalable and sustainable solution, and one of the essential pillars to NEC xHaul Transformation Services, to innovate our customers’ transport network to the next generation,” said Hideyuki Ogata, General Manager of the Service Provider Solutions Department, NEC. “NEC is committed to continue supporting Tele Columbus’ business success as a local partner in Germany, as well as our valued customers across the globe."

Another key factor for choosing Juniper and NEC was sustainable expansion for the future. With a highly proactive approach to its sustainability responsibilities, Tele Columbus was keen to ensure investment in a new infrastructure that supported its strategy and delivered improved TCO.

Juniper’s ACX7000 Family products offer port speed options that help customers grow in place as their capacity needs increase, allowing easy transition from 100G to 400G with different choices of optics. The ACX7000’s future proof performance enables longer system life, better economics and reduced e-waste.

Working with Juniper and NEC made sense for Tele Columbus as the partnership ticks all the boxes the fiber network operator was looking to cover.

“The Cloud Metro solution, the partnership of Juniper and NEC and attentive local support matched our needs and has shown us the value of simplicity, innovation and open, multi-vendor principles,” said Michael Fränkle, Chief Technology Officer, Tele Columbus. “This enabled a migration path that honors Tele Columbus’ vision, sustainability imperatives and commercial considerations front and center."

The initial phase — data centers, network core and metro network — is underway with plans to connect the first tranche of subscribers in the first half of 2023. Ongoing phases are to follow, leading to a complete migration to Cloud Metro including automation for operational efficiency over time.