Vodafone Deploys Affirmed Networks NFV Solution to Deliver Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Connected Car Services

ACTON, Mass., Feb. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Affirmed Networks, the leader in virtualized mobile networks, today announced that it has been deployed by Vodafone to deliver Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications and Connected Car services over the operator's global network infrastructure.  Affirmed Networks' virtualized Evolved Packet Core (EPC) solutions are currently supporting live traffic related to these services in several of Vodafone's most strategic markets including Brazil, Germany, Spain and the US.

With more than 400 million subscribers and revenues of $38.34B (2014), Vodafone Group is the second largest global communications company worldwide, and widely acknowledged as the industry leader in managed M2M services. As an industry leader, Vodafone is continually monitoring market trends to identify compelling new service offerings, such as M2M communications, for its customers.

M2M connections are anticipated to increase to 40 billion by 2020, which represents both a challenge and an opportunity for mobile network operators. The challenge lies in addressing the influx of traffic generated by M2M interactions, such as Connected Car services. In addition to increasing the amount of traffic, these types of services require the uninterrupted real-time connectivity necessary for delivering vehicle-specific and location-based services. Operators now have the opportunity to capitalize on the large and profitable market for M2M and Connected Car services. 

Vodafone chose to build their M2M network architecture based on Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), an approach that addresses the challenge and the opportunity of this emerging market. This greatly reduces cost, but also provides a high degree of agility and speed when provisioning new revenue generating services, which will help Vodafone vastly reduce its time to market. Vodafone's deployment of Affirmed Networks' NFV solutions for EPC across multiple markets provides unprecedented scalability and allows NFV applications to adjust to traffic requirements without the need for extensive manual intervention and costly new hardware installations.

"Recognized as the leader in the emerging M2M Communications market, Vodafone is committed to optimizing all facets of our business – including our network infrastructure -- to ensure we are able to capitalize on this market as it continues to mature," said Scott Petty, Vodafone's Director, Group Enterprise Technology.  "After reviewing both the legacy and emerging architectures available, we have decided for our EPC platforms that a virtualized solution from Affirmed Networks and VMware provides the network capacity and the service creation agility necessary to achieve our business objectives related to this new market opportunity." 

"As one of the world's largest network operators Vodafone is a company that has never lost sight of the power of innovation. This is reflected in everything they do, from the services they deploy to the underlying technologies that enable them," said Hassan Ahmed, Chairman and CEO, Affirmed Networks.  "Vodafone's decision to deploy NFV across their mobile infrastructure provides them with the agility to capitalize on new market opportunities like M2M without making extensive capital investments associated with legacy network deployments."

About Affirmed Networks, Inc.
Affirmed Networks has achieved significant attention as its Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) solution has become the standard for the world's top mobile operators. Currently, the company has been deployed commercially, including in Tier 1 and Tier 2 mobile networks, and is engaged in many trials worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.affirmednetworks.com.

SOURCE Affirmed Networks