Tokyo, March 24, 2017 - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) and Netcracker Technology today announced their participation in a trial with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) to realize the "NetroSphere Concept" for developing future communication networks.

The NetroSphere Concept is the construction of a flexible, cost-effective network that can respond to the needs of both customers and service providers. This trial, held by NTT, verified the "network slicing technology" that will be necessary for the implementation of the NetroSphere Concept. This technology will allow service providers to efficiently utilize network resources only during the time those resources are needed, enabling the realization of various services at a low cost.

This trial coordinated traffic distribution to the most appropriate network according to the traffic status of each device. NEC and Netcracker contributed to the trial by providing a virtualized Customer Premises Equipment (vCPE) solution, which distributes the traffic sent from each device to the most adequate network, and an "IoT Service Enabler (*)," which dynamically changes distribution rules based on the status of traffic.
 
"We are honored that these trials will contribute to the realization of NTT's NetroSphere Concept," said Atsuo Kawamura, Senior Vice President, NEC Corporation. "NEC/Netcracker's vCPE and the IoT Service Enabler are essential support components of network slicing technology and these results will help NTT achieve the network it is aiming for."

NEC/Netcracker's vCPE solution enables CPE functions to be provided through Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) as part of creating a more sophisticated network. Also, NEC's IoT Service Enabler cooperates with the vCPE solution as well as other network equipment compatible with 3GPP, enabling such functions as the accurate assessment of a network's status and the control of network bandwidth. As a result, these product and solution can contribute to the realization of advanced networks for both fixed and mobile communications. In the future, NEC aims to implement Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies within this service to further strengthen both monitoring and analytics of network data traffic.

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• (*) NEC Develops Mobile Edge Computing Platform
  http://www.nec.com/en/press/201610/global_20161020_02.html

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