Verizon Works With Alcatel, Cisco, Ericsson, Others on SDN

Verizon is working with a handful of the top telecom equipment firms on software defined networks, which SDN advocates have said can cut carrier costs by using hardware-controlled software. With Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Juniper Networks and Nokia Networks, the carrier said it's "transforming its network" through SDN, "laying the groundwork for new innovative services and applications." Centralized network control will lead to "network-wide service creation and near real-time service delivery," said Verizon in a news release Tuesday. It said Verizon and the vendors wrote a document with specifications and reference architecture. "Cloud technologies hold the promise for true innovation in our industry," said Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri. Cisco CEO John Chambers said his company and Verizon will work on making money from what his firm calls the Internet of Everything, which he has said could be worth a cumulative $19 trillion by 2020 (see report in the Jan. 9, 2014, issue).