The Converged Backbone Transformation solution introduces a game-changing approach to managing the strain of traffic growth on today’s core networks — in line with our vision for high-leverage networks.

Faced with an exabyte flood of traffic, network operators need to lower the cost of carrying video and multimedia services, while providing their business, residential and mobile customers with an even better end-user experience.

The Alcatel-Lucent vision for providing that better web experience, what we call Application Enablement, will open up the network and its valuable assets to application and content developers. This creates even greater demand on network resources. So some fresh thinking is needed on how to flexibly scale the transport network and drive the costs for bit transport progressively lower.

Optical-IP Convergence

The key innovation in our Converged Backbone Transformation solution is to enable a range of flexible grooming and IP offload options, leveraging closer coordination and visibility between the IP and optical layers to optimize transport, with integration across the data plane, control plane and management plane.

For instance, much of your Internet access and over-the-top video trafficwhich require lower levels of grooming flexibilitycan be handled through lambda grooming; business services will benefit from sub-lambda higher-level grooming options.

This increases the utilization within the core and minimizes unnecessary processing of selected transit traffic from core routers—reducing cost, power, and latency. The benefit of IP offload is analogous to taking the express elevator to the top floor instead of needlessly stopping at every floor on route.

Unlike single-minded optical transport or router suppliers who take a limited view to solving the business problem of increasing transport efficiency and reducing the associated costs, Alcatel-Lucent is unique in that it is a world-leading optical and routing company. And our solution reflects this experience with greater intelligence in the way these two layers manage and groom the breadth and scale of traffic you’re currently facing.

Transforming the Network Experience

With growth in new applications and content in recent years, end users and network operators are realizing that one of the key pieces in a better experience is the underlying network. Alcatel-Lucent has a vision of how to architect a high leverage network that enables an explosion of new content and applications for your customers.

We bring our industry-leading experience integrating end-to-end solutions, in both wireless and wireline broadband, our Bell Labs expertise in network and business modeling, and our best-in-class Optical and IP portfolios to help you transform your network to enable that better experience.