NEC Corporation and Netcracker Technology have told OSS News Review that Etisalat has implemented NEC/Netcracker’s full-stack Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) solution for the deployment of its residential virtual customer premises equipment (vCPE). Etisalat is the first communications service provider to leverage vCPE in the Middle East and Africa.

Etisalat is the Middle East’s leading communications provider, offering a wide range of 3G, 4G and fiber-to-the-home services to more than 142 million customers across the region. This deployment is part of Etisalat’s larger cloud initiative, called the Sahaab program, which will help it reduce the time needed to bring innovative services to market and enable the delivery of a better digital experience for its customers.

As part of the initiative, Etisalat is using NEC/Netcracker’s full-stack Network-as-a-Service solution comprised with Self-Service Portals, Service Orchestration and MANO offerings, as well as security virtual network functions. The solution will enable Etisalat to generate new revenue by providing a wider range of value-added services to residential customers.

The NaaS solution will help Etisalat reduce costs and create a platform to offer innovative services and open up new revenue streams.

Through the use of NaaS and virtualization capabilities that are hardware-independent, Etisalat will be able to move away from proprietary network hardware platforms and save on capex. By virtualizing customer premises functions and moving them into the network, Etisalat will be able to cut down on truck rolls and mitigate technician costs.

The NaaS platform also creates the foundation to introduce new services faster and in a much more flexible way, enabling greater segmentation and targeting of residential customers and providing greater control and usability to Etisalat’s customers.