VTS Selects IP Infusion for First Commercial Deployment of TIP’s Cassini Solution in Africa

Virtual Technologies and Solutions implements the OcNOS network operating system to extend their network capacity within Burkina Faso

SANTA CLARA, Calif., November 16, 2020IP Infusion, a leading provider of network disaggregation solutions for telecom and data communications operators, today announced that Virtual Technologies and Solutions (VTS), an Internet service provider in the West African country of Burkina Faso, is using IP Infusion’s OcNOS® networking operating system for their deployment of the Telecom Infra Project’s (TIP) Cassini Solution. This is the first commercial deployment of the Cassini solution in Africa.

The production units of the Cassini solution were used to interconnect Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, with Dakola through 200km of 200Gbps fiber allowing them to extend their capacity from West Africa Cable System (WACS), ACE and MainOne. The system uses Cassini, TIP’s disaggregated coherent switch and open packet transponder built by Edgecore Networks, and the networking stack of OcNOS, the industry’s full-featured network OS for white box disaggregated network solutions that provides transition from traditional networks to open networks.

“VTS is leveraging TIP’s Cassini solution to dramatically increase bandwidth while reducing TCO. IP Infusion’s fully validated solution is key to our efforts to link these two major cities. The optical transport solution featuring IP Infusion’s OcNOS and the Edgecore Cassini transponder platform with optical modules from Lumentum helped VTS to easily add high capacity fiber links which improved our operational experience,” said Abdou Dia, CEO of Virtual Technologies and Solutions. “This 200Gbps link is the first of its kind in Burkina Faso and will deliver faster, more reliable connectivity for all of our customers.”

“OcNOS centralized management and provisioning layer provides enough flexibility which helped VTS to adopt network automation which makes service provisioning and configuration change faster and easier than before,” said Issam Fayad, CTO of Virtual Technologies and Solutions.

“IP Infusion welcomes VTS to the growing number of service providers who are adopting IP Infusion’s network operating system to implement their disaggregated network,” said Atsushi Ogata, CEO and President of IP Infusion. “The Cassini solution with OcNOS will help expand the reach of connectivity and the adoption of digital technologies in Burkina Faso.”

“We are pleased VTS has decided to use TIP’s Cassini solution with the OcNOS network operating system from IP Infusion to help expand the reach of connectivity and the adoption of digital technologies in Burkina Faso,” said David Hutton, Chief Engineer of the Telecom Infra Project.

“With Cassini – the world’s first open optical packet transponder, Edgecore Networks continues to provide open networking solutions for a wide range of use cases for optical, data center, service provider and enterprise network operators. We are pleased that VTS selected Edgecore’s Cassini platform to extend their network capacity,” said George Tchaparian, CEO, Edgecore Networks.

Cassini was developed by TIP’s Open Optical & Packet Transport (OOPT) Project Group and is the industry’s highest capacity and first modular open packet transponder, offering a flexible mix of 100 Gigabit Ethernet packet switching ports and 100/200 Gbps coherent optical interfaces for data center interconnect and service provider backhaul use cases.

About Virtual Technologies and Solutions

Virtual Technologies and Solutions was launched in 2016 by a small, yet dedicated team who wanted to create an Internet Service that would fully meet the requirement of providing fast and reliable connectivity in Burkina Faso. Our approach is client centric and we are focused on delivering a level of service and support unparalleled by any other provider in Burkina Faso to our clients/customers. We offer exceptional support 24/7 to ensure we are meeting the demands of even the most demanding clients. We are experienced, approachable and committed to what we do. Our vision has always been to provide a full range of services at affordable prices to suit a variety of clients including residential, wholesale, enterprises and much more. We are very unique as our core global internet connectivity is presented in Ghana, United Kingdom, France, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and United States where we have multiple transit and peering connections with a variety of global networks. This allows us to ensure our clients are connected in in the shortest amount of time using the most direct paths. We continue to invest heavily in our infrastructure ensuring its future proof to meet demand and also ensuring we stay at the very forefront of being the leading ISP in the country and region. We have come a long way in short period of time and we represent one of the success stories on the Burkina Faso internet market and we have done this with minimal advertising campaigns but purely from our customer loyalty and word of mouth.

About IP Infusion

IP Infusion is a leading provider of open network software and solutions for carriers, service providers and data center operators with over 500 customers and thousands of deployments. Our solutions enable network operators to disaggregate their networks to accelerate innovation, streamline operations, and reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Network OEMs may also disaggregate network devices to expedite time to market, offer comprehensive services, and achieve carrier grade robustness.

IP Infusion is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., and is a wholly owned and independently operated subsidiary of ACCESS CO., LTD. Additional information can be found at http://www.IPInfusion.com.

IP Infusion and OcNOS are trademarks or registered trademarks of IP Infusion. ACCESS is a registered trademark or trademark of ACCESS CO., LTD. in the United States, Japan and/or other countries. Northforge Innovations is a registered trademark of Northforge Innovations, Inc. All other trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, or registered service marks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

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Media Contact

Katherine Verducci, 1903 PR, kverducci@1903pr.com, 408.429.5779

About the Telecom Infra Project

The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) is a global community of companies and organizations that are driving infrastructure solutions to advance global connectivity. Half of the world’s population is still not connected to the internet, and for those who are, connectivity is often insufficient. This limits access to the multitude of consumer and commercial benefits provided by the internet, thereby impacting GDP growth globally. However, a lack of flexibility in the current solutions – exacerbated by a limited choice in technology providers – makes it challenging for operators to efficiently build and upgrade networks. Founded in 2016, TIP is a community of diverse members that includes hundreds of companies – from service providers and technology partners, to systems integrators and other connectivity stakeholders. We are working together to develop, test and deploy open, disaggregated, and standards-based solutions that deliver the high-quality connectivity that the world needs – now and in the decades to come. Find out more: www.telecominfraproject.com

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