The Challenge
Africa's largest mobile network operator, MTN Group, was founded in 1994 and serves 280 million customers across 16 markets. Closed, single-vendor networking stacks fit that scale badly, because every capacity decision runs through one supplier's price list and one supplier's schedule.
MTN wanted the opposite arrangement. It set out to choose hardware and software independently, hold network costs down as it expands service delivery and digital access across the communities it serves, and cut capital expenditure while improving operational cost efficiency. That goal produced a new supplier category and a Request for Proposal to fill it.
The Solution
MTN Group designated IP Infusion as a software provider for its Open Transport and Disaggregated category, with OcNOS SP positioned for access and aggregation roles. NEC XON, the regional integrator partner, brings the deployment, integration, and support footprint MTN needs across the continent.
- Product: OcNOS SP for access and aggregation
- Selection path: Approved through MTN's RFP for the Open and Disaggregated Networking Category, Software
- Delivery partner: NEC XON, an African integrator
- Ecosystem: MTN is a member of the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), contributing to SDN for Transport, OOPT, DDBR, and DCSG work streams
Risultati
With IP Infusion on the approved list, MTN can assemble a multi-vendor networking ecosystem that interoperates across global suppliers instead of committing to one. The approval was granted alongside three other vendors, so the category leaves MTN with real substitutes at the software layer rather than a single roadmap to follow.
- Hardware and software are now sourced separately in the access and aggregation layers, so a platform refresh no longer forces a software change
- Reduced capital expenditure and operational cost efficiency are MTN's stated reasons for forming the category, and the approved supplier list is how it holds vendors to them
- Faster service introduction reaches the 280 million subscribers MTN already serves, across all 16 markets
Perché OcNOS
OcNOS SP gives carriers an open network operating system that runs on standards-based hardware, so operators can streamline operations and reduce Total Cost of Ownership while keeping vendor choice open. As Lloyd Mphahlele, General Manager of Group Technology presso MTN Group, put it: "By adopting open and disaggregated networking, we're able to enhance the flexibility and efficiency of our network infrastructure. This approach not only drives innovation but also allows us to better serve our customers by improving service delivery and expanding access to the latest digital solutions."