Etisalat takes major leap toward an autonomous network with Blue Planet

Dubai, UAE and Hanover, Md. — Etisalat, one of the leading telecommunications operators in emerging markets recognized by Ookla® Speedtest® as the world’s fastest mobile network provider in 2020, has deployed the first end-to-end multi-vendor DWDM Transport network orchestration in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region with software from Blue Planet, a division of Ciena (NYSE: CIEN), forging a path to create one of the world’s most adaptive and self-optimising networks. Blue Planet’s intelligent automation software supports in accelerating Etisalat’s digital transformation journey in line with UAE’s vision to create a more competitive digital economy.

Haitham Abdulrazzak, Chief Technology Officer, Etisalat, said: “Etisalat as a global leader in many technologies and innovations  continuously aims to enhance its leadership, position, network efficiency and provide superior customer experience, and a “zero-touch network target” is a tool to achieve this. Transport network is in the heart of all autonomous networks, and the deployment of Blue Planet solution is a major step in our strategy to create more agile on demand adaptive networks.”

The Blue Planet software has been designed to support Etisalat’s specific intelligent automation requirements and has been implemented in close collaboration with Etisalat.

By reducing manual operations and automating order-to-service processes, Blue Planet supports Etisalat to further reduce the time it takes to introduce new services by 70 to 90 percent. This efficiency is achieved via the Blue Planet Multi Domain Service Orchestration (MDSO) at the Transport DWDM Network level, which is integrated with Etisalat’s existing OSS inventory and automation systems to execute closed loop automation. Blue Planet also provides automated fiber diversity by integrating with a GIS system, while orchestrating service provisioning across the multi-vendor and multi-domain WDM network.

Additionally, the Blue Planet software will support Etisalat to dynamically tune and adjust Bandwidth on Demand (BoD), enabling its customers to quickly self-provision network resources whenever needed.

Rick Hamilton, Senior Vice President, Blue Planet, a division of Ciena, said: “Across the globe, operators are using automation to create networks that can handle the ever-changing expectations of their users and Etisalat is at the forefront of that movement. Our Blue Planet software will support this network transformation to accelerate service delivery.”