The service, available from early 2019, will have no territorial restrictions and all international customers will be able to benefit from the service when it is launched. Services will connect to all PoPs (more than 70) on the Orange MPLS network internationally (Europe, US, Asia, Africa, the Middle East)
It will launch as part of the company’s drive to develop its portfolio of connectivity services with ‘self-service’ online order management capabilities with SDN technology to provide wholesale customers with a fast, flexible and efficient connectivity solution. Orange says Ethernet Now benefits customers with vastly reduced delivery times to the extent that services are available in near real-time.
The service will also enable the online, real-time purchase of point-to-point Ethernet circuits over Orange’s IP network. It is accessible via the Orange customer portal and by entering the basic criteria of location, bandwidth, and duration of the engagement customers can request a price quotation, order a new link or make a change to an existing contract, in a matter of minutes.
Through its wholesale arm, International Carriers, Orange says it aims to provide the best digital customer experience tailored to specific needs in today’s increasingly demanding environment and Ethernet Now offers speed and convenience with this digital interface.
By significantly reducing call processing and circuit delivery times, Ethernet Now will enable customers to oversee contracts and carefully manage connectivity costs. In addition, the solution offers greater management flexibility thanks to a new daily pricing model without the need for extra contractual commitment. Furthermore, customers will benefit from responsiveness, agility and flexibility when connecting to data centres around the world.
Orange says it is at the forefront of network-transformation and Ethernet Now is a major step in the transformation programme towards innovative SDN and NFV networks.
Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) are revolutionary technologies that enable programming and automation of network operations to optimise network management and better serve customers' expectations. They bring greater flexibility and reduced delays to service activation. Orange is working to ensure the best quality of experience for its wholesale customers and as a major contributor to open-source communities and standardisation bodies, Orange is reconfirming the group's ambition to extend the benefits of these technologies to its wholesale customers with the launch of Ethernet Now.
Orange claims to be the only Tier-1 wholesale operator to have four Points of Presence (PoPs) in the Africa-Middle East region in Abidjan, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Amman. With more than 150 Bandwidth PoPs, and more than 70 IP PoPs, Orange also has new PoPs in Spain, the USA, France and the Netherlands. These new POPs serve to strengthen the Orange footprint for IP services, including Ethernet connectivity services.
Pierre-Louis de Guillebon, CEO, Orange International Carriers, said: “In today’s challenging market place, satisfied customers mean the difference between success and failure. Wherever possible, we need to anticipate customers’ needs as they evolve so keeping customers happy is the foremost priority for Orange International Carriers. When Ethernet Now is launched in early 2019, we fully expect to see our business expand further.”