INOMPAS Show (Spring 2016) - Day 2 Show Daily

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« 2 0 » THE INCOMPAS SHOW I APRIL 10-13, 2016
DAY 2 THE INCOMPAS SHOW
Communications Data Group Joins MEF
Communications Data Group (CDG)
has recently joined the Metro
Ethernet Forum (MEF). The MEF is
a global industry alliance comprising
more than 200 organizations, including commu-
nications service providers, network equipment/
software suppliers, testing organizations and
other stakeholders.
The MEF is the driving force enabling agile,
assured and orchestrated “third network”
services for the digital economy and the hyper-
connected world, with user-directed control over
service capabilities and cloud connectivity.
These on-demand services build on an inter-
connected Carrier Ethernet 2.0 foundation and
use lifecycle service orchestration (LSO) to
enable automated and virtualized networks with
software-defined network (SDN) and network
function virtualization (NFV).
“Joining the MEF was a logical choice for
CDG,” said CDG’s Vice President of Product
Development Stan Redden. “As a billing and
operational support systems company, being a
member of organizations involved with defining
technical specifications and standards for tele-
communications services is crucial.
“When CABS billing emerged in the 1980s,
CDG was on the frontline. We were one of the
initial companies to join the Alliance for Telecom-
munications Industry Solutions (ATIS) Order and
Billing Forum (OBF), and we were the first inde-
pendent software development vendor to sit on the
C/BOS Technical Review Group,” Redden noted.
“With the growth of Carrier Ethernet and the shift
toward on-demand and orchestrated services, we
knew we needed to be part of the MEF,” he continued.
“So when the opportunity came along to be the first
billing vendor to join the MEF, we jumped on it.
“At CDG, we are deeply invested in being
involved with the development of new technologies,
and we are very excited and proud to be part of this
forum, which includes some of the most influential
companies in our industry,” Redden added.
MEF’s COO Kevin Vachon said, “Overcoming
service providers’ billing challenges is an inte-
gral part of MEF’s LSO vision for end-to-end
automation of the network services lifecycle.
We are pleased to have CDG join the MEF and
contribute to the development of standards that
enable service providers to profit from third
network services orchestrated over more auto-
mated, virtualized and interconnected networks.”
The MEF is the driving force enabling
agile, assured and orchestrated third network
services for the digital economy and the hyper-
connected world, with user-directed control
over service capabilities and cloud connectivity.
Optimized for real-time, QoS-enabled, secured
traffic and integration of value-added network
functions-as-a-service, third network services
are delivered over automated, virtualized and
interconnected networks globally powered by
LSO, SDN and NFV.
Leveraging its global community of opera-
tors and technology vendors, the MEF builds on
the robust $80 billion carrier Ethernet market
and provides a practical evolution to the third
network with LSO, SDN and NFV implementa-
tions that build upon a CE 2.0 foundation.
The MEF has established a technical and
implementation framework that includes archi-
tecture, information models, service defini-
tions, operational processes, open source
community and certification programs. MEF
work is conducted internally and – under the
guidance of the MEF UNITE program – in
collaboration with global standards organi-
zations and open source projects. For more
information, visit
CDG offers scalable, accurate billing and
operational support solutions for voice, video
and data for retail and wholesale telecommuni-
cations carriers and service providers. Options
include interconnect, CABS, mediation, customer
care, plant, trouble, service provisioning, e-care,
task management and third-party financial,
mapping and facilities management products.
Service bureau, online and licensed options
are available. o
For more information visit booth 219 in
the Expo Hall or
N GN, a member-owned cooperative
operating more than 1,600 miles
of fiber optic infrastructure in North
Georgia, announced it has estab-
lished a point-of-presence (PoP) at Colo Atl,
a provider of carrier-neutral colocation, data
center and interconnection services in Atlanta.
The cooperative now offers wavelength
services (1, 10, 40 and 100Gbps) and Layer
2/3 services over its MPLS network (10Mbps to
10Gbps) via its newest PoP.
“With a new PoP at Colo Atl’s highly
regarded colocation facility in downtown
Atlanta, NGN will add additional fault tolerance
and route diversity to its network,” said Paul
Belk, president and CEO of NGN. “This stra-
tegic move helps us to better serve both our
members and other carriers.
“By moving existing interconnects from other
data center facilities to Colo Atl’s facility, we
will not only strengthen our network, but also
decrease our OpEx due to the no cross connect
fee policy in Colo Atl’s Meet Me Area,” Belk said.
Colo Atl is also home to the Georgia Tech-
nology Center, a test bed and live production
facility for network communications equip-
ment; and the Southeast Network Access
Point, which provides next-generation Internet
Exchange solutions, including SDN peering,
testing and implementation.
“We’re very proud to welcome NGN to our
Colo Atl family,” said Tim Kiser, owner and
founder of Colo Atl. “NGN has quickly built a
very important network throughout the South-
east and more specifically within Georgia.
“This announcement speaks to its continued
growth and to Colo Atl’s reputation as a key
PoP for NGN and many other tenants and
carriers in the Southeast,” Kiser continued.
“We look forward to providing NGN and its
highly valued members with colocation and
interconnection services at the most affordable
rates available in Atlanta.”
NGN was founded in 2009 and operates
more than 1,600 miles of fiber optic infra-
structure from its headquarters in Clarkes-
ville, Ga. Its state-of-the-art, low-latency
digital optical network serves solutions to
carriers, service providers and technology-
reliant businesses and organizations
throughout the Southeast.
Unlike most telecommunications corpora-
tions, NGN is a corporation of cooperatives
owned by its members including Habersham
Electric Membership Corporation (HEMC),
Blue Ridge Mountain Electrical Membership
Corporation (BRMEMC) and NGN Connect. o
For more information on NGN, visit
or contact
NGN Establishes PoP at Colo Atl’s
Downtown Atlanta Facility