It's the first step in the transition of its mobile Internet network to Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), the latest revision of IP that routes voice, data and video traffic across the Internet.

MetroPCS, the country’s fifth-largest facilities-based wireless service provider, is also using Cisco Services to perform critical system integration by leading the design, testing and production enablement of IPv6 in a multivendor mobile Internet network. Cisco Services was selected because of its leading IPv6 expertise and experience working with service providers around the world.

MetroPCS has also deployed other Cisco technologies as part of the Cisco Carrier-Grade IPv6 Solution. They are the Cisco ASR 5000 Series, Cisco Carrier Routing System, Cisco ASR 9000 Series Aggregation Service Routers in the core and IP aggregation, and the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switches, which supports Cisco’s vision of the Internet of Everything (IoE), where billions of connected devices provide a continuous stream of real-time data that can power all kinds of decisions.

“IPv6 is a foundational element for 3G and 4G and next-generation mobile Internet networking. The actions we are taking, thanks in part to Cisco, position MetroPCS to support increased service, application and end-user demands. We share a common vision with Cisco when it comes to delivering high-quality, advanced mobile Internet services,” said Ed Chao, senior vice president of corporate engineering and network operations, MetroPCS.

Platform for Next-Generation Mobile Internet Services

Cisco Services completed the network end-to-end validation work and first-office applications, which required collaborating with many third-party vendors. Cisco oversaw all program management, tools, process and people, resulting in improved efficiencies, which reduced the time for MetroPCS to launch 4G LTE services on IPv6.

Because of the exponential growth of Internet services, mobile devices and increasing number of end users, MetroPCS is looking at new ways for its current network architecture to meet the needs of, new applications and services. The Cisco Carrier-Grade IPv6 Solution is designed to enable MetroPCS to meet these challenges and provide new services to its customers.

The Cisco Carrier-Grade IPv6 Solution helps MetroPCS effectively deal with the bottleneck created by the depletion of IPv4 addresses. This Cisco solution complements Cisco’s IPv6 portfolio, the widest and most extensive in the market. Now spanning from the core of the network to the home, Cisco’s IPv6 capabilities have been expanded and added to a wide range of the company's routers and switches. This provides MetroPCS with a cost-effective and efficient means to bridge to a full IPv6 mobile Internet network while extending the life of existing IPv4 addresses to smoothly manage that migration.

According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update (2012 to 2017), worldwide mobile data traffic will increase 13-fold over the next four years, reaching 11.2 exabytes per month (for an annual run rate of 134 exabytes) by 2017. The expected steady increase in mobile traffic is partly due to continued strong growth in the number of mobile Internet connections (personal devices and machine-to-machine applications), which will exceed the world’s population (United Nations estimates 7.6 billion) by 2017.