
White Paper: 4G & 5G Ready Network Slicing
November 2017
This paper shows how network slicing can be introduced in today’s 4G networks, while contributing to future commercial success of tomorrow’s 5G networks. Currently, real-world use cases live with AT&T, Vodafone, and Verizon are demonstrating how network slicing is used to offer compelling new services. New capabilities, such as a Virtual Slice Selection function, enable fine-grained network slicing across legacy and virtualized, multi-vendor network environments both today and in future 5G networks.

Juniper Networks Democratizes the Telco Cloud with Contrail Cloud Enhancements
November 5, 2017
Solution now integrates AppFormix, expanded services, a set of pre-validated virtual functions, and an extended Red Hat collaboration to give service providers a turn-key platform to rapidly deploy new cloud services.

Affirmed Networks on Turkcell’s Network Transformation Program
October 31, 2017
Light Reading’s Ray Le Maistre talks with Aykut Soner Demirkol from Turkcell, and Angela Whiteford of Affirmed Networks, about Turkcell’s ongoing network transformation program. The segment provides perspective around Turkcell’s progress moving toward a common NFVi platform, and includes insights from Affirmed Networks, which is serving as both a technology provider and overall systems integrator for the program.

Close to the Edge
October 24, 2017
Dejan Leskaroski, Senior Product Manager for Network Virtualization Software Specialist for Affirmed Networks, explained at the OPNFV Summit in June that pushing some processing in smart-NICs makes it harder for the high-level services to see billing information. “We don’t see all the flows. And, with firewalls, how can a virtualized network function enforce policies when flows are bypassing it?”

WEBINAR: Unlocking New Services Through Transformation to Distributed Service Provider Cloud
September 2017
“Through more than 60 commercial CSP deployments to date globally, we see that NFV is rapidly becoming the mainstream way of deploying mission critical operator networks,” said Hassan Ahmed, Chairman and CEO, Affirmed Networks. “The combined effort of Dell EMC, VMware and their partners to deliver pre-integrated solutions greatly simplifies network transformation and accelerates the pace of modernization and profitability for operators.”

New, Integrated DellEMC and VMware NFW Solution Accelerates Production Deployment for Service Providers
September 12, 2017
“Through more than 60 commercial CSP deployments to date globally, we see that NFV is rapidly becoming the mainstream way of deploying mission critical operator networks,” said Hassan Ahmed, Chairman and CEO, Affirmed Networks. “The combined effort of Dell EMC, VMware and their partners to deliver pre-integrated solutions greatly simplifies network transformation and accelerates the pace of modernization and profitability for operators.”

Affirmed: Lack of Automation Will Kill Innovation
August 24, 2017
Mobile core virtualization startup Affirmed believes that the lack of network automation in today’s carrier networks is becoming a stifling impediment to the innovation needed for the incumbents to take on over-the-top players in an ever-more competitive environment.

Affirmed Claims Multivendor Network Slicing is Possible Before 5G
July 17, 2017
Network slicing is arguably the technology which will make the business case for 5G. But can it be implemented without making a high-stakes early move to a new network? Affirmed Networks, already known for pushing the boundaries of the virtualized evolved packet core (vEPC), says yes, with a new offering based on LTE.

Affirmed Slices Into Network Management, Aims for IPO
July 13, 2017
Affirmed is claiming a network-slicing first as it pushes to be what the CEO calls an “important company” in a pre-5G world.
The company has put together software, called the Affirmed Virtual Slice Selection Function (vSSF), that’s aimed at making the task of network slicing easier on today’s core networks and is targeted at multi-vendor network environments.

Affirmed Networks Announces 5G-ready ‘Network Slicing’ Feature
July 12, 2017
Software-defined networking company Affirmed Networks Inc. on Wednesday announced what it says is an industry-first “network slicing” feature that provides fine-grained control over corporate networks and paves the way for the installation of next-generation 5G networks.

Affirmed Networks Delivers Industry First with Fine-Grained Network Slicing Across Legacy, Virtualized, Multi-Vendor and Future 5G Networks
July 11, 2017
Affirmed Networks, the leader in virtualized mobile networks, today introduced the Affirmed Virtual Slice Selection Function (vSSF) which enables fine-grained network slicing across legacy, virtualized and multi-vendor network environments. The Affirmed vSSF also supports fine- grained selection of network resources for 5G networks delivering operators a “5G Ready” solution now.

Affirmed Pushes Network Slicing Ahead of 5G
July 11, 2017
Mobile platform startup Affirmed Networks isn’t waiting for advanced, high-bandwidth 5G mobile networks to exist before it deploys a virtualization technology known as “slicing” — it says that operators want it now.

Affirmed Networks Makes Network Slicing Possible on LTE
July 11, 2017
Affirmed Networks is making it possible for operators to slice and dice their legacy network traffic without having to wait for 5G. Using its virtual slice selection function (vSSF), Affirmed lets carriers steer traffic into slices over both legacy, virtualized, and multivendor networks.

Affirmed Networks Rolls Out a “5G Ready” Network Slicing Carriers Can Use Now
July 11, 2017
Affirmed Networks is aiming to help prepare operators for the demands of 5G with a new network slicing function that enables fine-grain network control.

Why Wait for 5G to Benefit from Network Slicing?
July 11, 2017
Affirmed is offering the Virtual Slice Selection Function (vSSF), which supports network slicing in legacy networks and works in virtualized, multi-vendor network environments. The vSSF tool takes the place of APNs (Access Point Names), which offer some degree of traffic segmentation, albeit in a time-consuming, manual process.

Affirmed Networks Says it can Deliver 5G-ready Network Slicing Today
July 11, 2017
Not one to wait around for standards, Affirmed Networks announced it is delivering the Affirmed Virtual Slice Selection Function (vSSF) that enables fine-grained network slicing across existing legacy, virtualized and multivendor network environments.

Lightning Speed: The Profitable Future of 5G
June 21, 2017
Dell EMC has partnered with Affirmed Networks to create an industry- first and “intelligence first” implementation of integrated virtual probes with Affirmed’s Virtual Evolved Packet Core that streams data in an open format to Dell EMC’s underlying platform that can provide complex event processing on the data in realtime or store it in a data lake for historical analytics.

Artista Strengthens Its Case for the Network Core
June 19, 2017
The company has partnered with Affirmed Networks to provide a mobile packet core. Affirmed provides a lot of the service provider-specific pieces, such as the virtual evolved packet core (vEPC) and the associated policy and charging functions.

The Great Telco Debate: How to Battle Cloud?
June 13, 2017
A breakout panel here on the future of telecom infrastructure pondered an existential question about the future of service providers and how they will battle back against the encroaching cloud providers such as Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOGL), and Microsoft (MSFT).

Preparing Vodafone Networks for Multi-vendor NB-IoT Deployments
June 5, 2017
In February this year we deployed the world’s first commercial NB-IoT service, based on fully integrated 3GPP standards, via a remote software upgrade of over 1,000 existing 4G base stations in six major cities in Spain.
Since then, we’ve worked extensively with our network partners Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia and Affirmed Networks to extend the reach of NB-IoT to Vodafone networks globally, as well as some of our partners’ networks around the world.

2017 NFV Report Series Part 3: Powering NFV – Virtual Network Functions Report Available Now
June 1, 2017
The third report in the series, the Virtual Network Functions report, focuses on how the NFV infrastructure will enable virtual network functions (VNFs) to be deployed, orchestrated, and managed in the cloud. This includes an overview of leading VNF solutions that are purpose-built as software-defined solutions and deployed with NFV infrastructure.

Why Analog Devices’ Former CFO Wants to ‘Turbocharge’ an Acton Startup
May 11, 2017
“I had done the hardware side, I had done the big company side. I wanted to bring some of the operational excellence that I had learned… and try to bring that down to the smaller company,” said David Zinsner.
Read More

Cloudification Will Mean Upheaval in Telecoms
April 12, 2017
In the computing clouds, startups can set up new servers or acquire data storage with only a credit card and a few clicks of a mouse. Now imagine a world in which they could as quickly weave their own wireless network, perhaps to give users of a fleet of self-driving cars more bandwidth or to connect wireless sensors.

Navigating the IoT Hype: The Elements of Profitable IoT Service Delivery
April 7, 2017
You don’t need more market stats to know that the Internet of Things (IoT) is real and happening today. Service providers are finally able to embrace the opportunity for a new breed of service offerings and are moving fast. This momentum has been enabled by the widespread adoption of virtualized, software-based networks and the advanced platform capabilities that are now available making profitable IoT service delivery a sustainable business reality.

Affirmed Networks CEO: 5G Won’t Cruch The Telcos
March 8, 2017
Back in October, I related a conversation with networking startup Affirmed Networks, which specializes in a technology called variously “software-defined networking,” or SDN, and “network function virtualization,” or NFV that has been invading whole switching systems inside telecom networks.
Last week, at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, I was fortunate to meet up with Affirmed’s CEO, Hassan Ahmed, at the show, where his company for the first time had obtained a booth on the show floor, rather than hanging out in one of the smaller conference rooms.

How a Virtualized EPC Fits into 5G and the Internet of Things
March 5, 2017
In an interview with RCR Wireless News during Mobile World Congress 2017, Angela Whiteford, vice president of marketing and product management at Affirmed Networks, discussed the role of a flexible, virtual architecture in enabling the internet of things.

SDx Central Weekly News Roundup – March 3, 2017
March 3, 2017
Juniper Networks partnered with Netronome and Affirmed Networks to provide customers with mobile subscriber service virtual networks functions.
Mobile network operator Truphone picked Affirmed Networks to provide it with a virtualized evolved packet core.

Juniper collaborates with Affirmed Networks and Netronome
March 3, 2017
Juniper Networks announces collaboration with Affirmed Networks and Netronome for offering scalable cloud solutions for mobile services. The solution brings together virtualization power with hardware acceleration for a Total Cost of Ownership and better performance for mobile operators.

Digicel Signs Affirmed Networks for Virtualization and Qwilt for Video
March 1, 2017
Telecom operator Digicel has selected Affirmed Networks for its virtualized Mobile Content Cloud (MCC) solution and Qwilt for its cache solution to boost network capacity and improve over-the-top (OTT) streaming.
Recently, Digicel announced Digicel 2030 transformation program to provide superior superfast network experience to customers in 31 markets. Digicel aims to make investment in virtualized architecture to start LTE and 5G in the near future.

Juniper Networks Partners with Affirmed Networks and Netronome to Deliver a Scalable Cloud Solution for Mobile Subscriber Services
February 27, 2017
Telecom operator Digicel has selected Affirmed Networks for its virtualized Mobile Content Cloud (MCC) solution and Qwilt for its cache solution to boost network capacity and improve over-the-top (OTT) streaming.

Affirmed Sends a Signal: The Enterprise Will Feature Prominently in MWC17 Messaging (Hopefully Alongside Partners)
February 24, 2017
Earlier this week, Affirmed Networks announced an upgrade to its IoT platform offer, including support for NB-IoT. Perhaps more importantly, the announcement called out work with Tech Mahindra to tap its enterprise domain expertise in supporting IoT rollouts.

Dell EMC Shores Up Service Provider Support
February 24, 2017
Dell EMC has announced several changes to its Cloud Service Provider Partner programme track, including a new solutions engineering practice. The programme covers communications service providers, cable multiple system operators, hosting/co-location providers, public cloud providers, vertical market cloud specialists, and consumer webtech providers.

Affirmed Networks Announces Virtualized IoT Solution for Mobile Operators
February 22, 2017
Affirmed Networks, a virtualized mobile network provider, has introduced a new end-to-end solution designed to enable mobile operators to more profitably deliver IoT services through Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT) and the Affirmed IoT Service Platform. Coming through a new partnership with Tech Mahindra, the IoT Service Platform integrates with enterprise systems and data so that mobile operators can more easily create and deliver IoT services.

Affirmed Networks Combines Virtualization with IoT
February 21, 2017
Affirmed Networks, which is known for its early work in the mobile packet core, is now bringing virtualization to the Internet of Things (IoT). The company today announced a fully virtualized IoT platform that supports narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and is interoperable with third party platforms such as Tech Mahindra’s platform, which is currently being used to connect enterprise devices and applications.

FirstNews Briefs: Mimosa, Procera and Brocade, Affirmed Networks, Radisys
February 21, 2017
Affirmed Networks, a provider of virtualized mobile networks, introduced an end-to-end solution that enables mobile operators to profitably deliver IoT services. Affirmed said the new solution expands on its existing IoT solution to deliver additional capabilities including NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT) and the Affirmed IoT Service Platform. Through a new partnership with Tech Mahindra, the IoT Service Platform integrates with critical enterprise systems and data, allowing mobile operators to create and deliver valuable IoT services.

Affirmed Networks’ New Product Will Help Telecoms Support our IoT Future
February 21, 2017
Affirmed Networks, an Acton-based network technology company with $163 million in investment, has released a new service meant to help telecommunications giants support the rise of internet-connected devices. The so-called “internet of things” – in which all kinds of equipment is embedded with internet-connected sensors – will dramatically increase the amount of data sent over networks operated by the likes of Verizon and AT&T. Affirmed’s virtualization software allows internet and telecommunications service providers to better handle and manage that flow of data.

Cloud, Containers, IoT & More: 10 Startups to Watch in 2017
December 26, 2016
About two years ago, AT&T named Affirmed Networks a Domain 2.0 supplier for its virtual evolved packet core (vEPC), and the 5-year-old startup has taken off ever since. The company’s claim to fame was jump-started by its vEPC running production traffic in LTE networks. This is important because at the time, not even companies like Ericsson or Alcatel Lucent were commercially shipping their vEPCs.

The Difference Between Theory and Practice
December 20, 2016
As Amit Tiwari explains, Affirmed Networks was conceived and built on the notion of SDN and NFV; the company didn’t come to virtualisation by chance but by careful forethought, planning and a determination to apply IT type principles to telcos and service providers as they transform their networks – and that is a very different approach to other players in the virtualised networks arena.

Three Tech Companies founded by South Asians in Massachusetts top IPO Candidates to Watch in 2017
December 21, 2016
Three Massachusetts technology companies founded by South Asians are the top IPO candidates to watch in 2017, Boston Business Journal reported.

21 Massachusetts Tech Companies that Could Go Public in 2017
December 21, 2016
Which Bay State tech firms are ripe for an IPO next year? CBInsights, a market research and prediction firm, on Tuesday released its fifth annual report on the tech companies entering the “IPO pipeline” within the next year, identifying 369 companies across the country that are the most likely to go public in 2017.

Here are the 5 most likely U.S. IPO candidates for 2017
December 20, 2016
The 5th annual Tech IPO Pipeline Report from CB Insights released today tracks 369 private companies in the U.S. that seem to be on the road to a public offering of stock at some point. Within those numbers are some interesting trends to note.

De-Risking NFV via Systems Integration or NFV One-Stop-Shops
December 5, 2016
Because of its complexity, NFV has put service providers between a rock and a hard place. They want to evolve their networks to be more software-focused, emulating the agility of the cloud titans. At the same time, they have a long history of delivering five-nines reliability. And they can’t just throw that out the window.

Affirmed Wins Wireless Broadband Alliance 2016 Industry Award for Best Next Gen Wi-Fi Network Infrastructure
November 17, 2016
The Wireless Broadband Alliance announced the winners of its annual Industry Awards. The WBA Industry Awards 2016, which took place at the San Jose Wireless Global Congress, recognize and celebrate excellence in wireless innovation.

Trends in High Performance NFV
November 14, 2016
It’s clear that in the service provider space, using a standard cloud platform to deliver carrier-class applications may not be sufficient. Service provider applications such as virtual private networks (VPNs), VoIP, and other virtual network functions (VNFs) can’t always be delivered by a best-effort cloud approach.

Tech Mahindra launches Virtual Network Function Exchange
November 4, 2016
Tech Mahindra, a leading consulting, business engineering and integration company and a specialist in digital transformation, networks and operations for the communications industry today launched its Virtual Network Function (VNF) Exchange, along with a number of leading new age providers of Software Defined Networks (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) products.

Will Affirmed Networks Melt $4 Billion From Cisco’s Top Line?
October 31, 2016
Cisco Systems gets about half of its roughly $7.4 billion in routing hardware revenues from selling to voice, data, and video transmission service providers, according an August 2016 conference call with Kelly Kramer, Cisco’s CFO.

Digitalk Deploys Affirmed’s Software to Create Mobile Promotions
October 11, 2016
Digitalk, a U.K.-based provider of cloud networking infrastructure, is using Affirmed Networks’ technology to offer different kinds of promotional deals to mobile customers. Digitalk provides telcos with a cloud infrastructure platform to extend their networks. It has three points of presence in London, Miami, and Singapore that form the basis for its mobile cloud. Via this mobile cloud, it acts as a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) for network operators. Its customers include Vodafone and BT.

Digitalk Rides the MVNO Cloud With Affirmed
October 11, 2016
Digitalk said Tuesday that it has selected Affirmed as a partner for the packet core as it looks to expand into more global markets with voice-over-IP, voice-over-WiFi and 4G data offerings, with a future eye on 5G.

Affirmed CEO Ahmed: Beating Cisco Et Al. To Telecom’s Cloud Future
October 7, 2016
Barrons reporter, Tiernan Ray, interviewed Hassan Ahmed, CEO of Affirmed Networks about how the company competes with legacy vendors by offering a more compelling total cost of ownership, especially when 5G investment are taken into account.

Strategy Is This $43 Billion Founder’s Most Important Job
September 16, 2016
A CEO who has founded or helped lead companies valued at over $43 billion believes that nothing is more important than setting strategy. After all, if you place the wrong bet on the future, hundreds of your people will end up having wasted years of their work lives.

5 Keys to Getting to 5G
August 22, 2016
Over the next five to 10 years, we’ll see a quantum leap in technology. Delivery trucks will be replaced by flying drones. Physicians will examine patients using high-definition video from halfway around the world. Household appliances will call in their own repairs. And all of this will be enabled by a “5G” network: the most powerful, efficient and intelligent network the world has ever known.

Unraveling AT&T’s and Verizon’s Virtualization Vendors
August 15, 2016
We’ve been writing a lot about the network virtualization efforts of AT&T and Verizon. So much so, that our eyes are kind of crossed from trying to make sense of it all and comparing the two service providers. We thought we’d do our readers and ourselves a favor and spell out the aspects of these providers’ virtual networks and the vendors handling each aspect.

Affirmed: 5G-Ready Core Is Table Stakes for Operators
August 11, 2016
Even if most of the hype behind 5G is around high-frequency radios these days, startup Affirmed says that operators are already thinking about deploying a next-generation core, well ahead of the arrival of the future radio access network (RAN).

Etisalat to Use Affirmed Networks’ vEPC for IoT & WiFi Calling
July 20, 2016
Middle East telecom provider Etisalat is jumping on the virtualization bandwagon by using Affirmed Networks’ virtual evolved packet core (vEPC) to more quickly deploy broadband and voice services. The telco also plans to use vEPC for advanced services such as Internet of Things (IoT), WiFi calling, and smart cities initiatives.

Etisalat Launches Virtual Telecom Function
July 20, 2016
Etisalat has announced that it successfully on-boarded its first virtualised telecom function using Affirmed Networks’ virtualised Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) solution, which follows the launch of its first NFV telco cloud.

Etisalat Launches Its First Virtual Telecom Function
July 20, 2016
UAE-based telecom group Etisalat has on-boarded its first virtualised telecom function using Affirmed Networks’ virtualised Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) solution. vEPC is a framework for providing converged voice and data on a 4G LTE network becoming the foundation of any mobile service.

Affirmed Networks Named “Private Company of the Year” by Light Reading
June 27, 2016
Hassan Ahmed, Chairman and CEO of Affirmed Networks, and Steve Saunders, Founder and CEO of Light Reading, speak after Affirmed is named Private Company of the Year by Light Reading.

HPE and Affirmed Partner Ecosystem DemoFriday – Automate & Cut Deployment Time for New Services
June 10, 2016
HPE and Affirmed explore a network-wide automation & orchestration platform that radically simplifies service creation, provisioning, and turn-up so even non-programmers can quickly create service templates or recipes.

Light Reading Announces 2016 Leading Lights Awards Winners
May 24, 2016
Light Reading, the market-leading online community for the global communications sector, today announced the winners of the 2016 Leading Lights awards, with major industry names such as AT&T, BT, Cisco Systems, Ericsson, Facebook and Nokia amongst this year’s victors.

There’s Still Time! Automate & Cut Deployment Time for New Services with ASAP & the HPE Demo Friday
May 19, 2016
As mobile network operators struggle to compete with agile web companies, being able to quickly launch, modify, and kill services is crucial to capturing and keeping business. An upcoming DemoFriday will feature Affirmed Networks’ Affirmed Service Automation Platform (ASAP), a network-wide service automation and orchestration platform that accelerates service creation and delivery.

Leading Lights 2016 Finalists: Private Company of the Year
May 18, 2016
Three of the four finalists for the Light Reading’s Leading Light award for Company of the Year (Private) are heavily engaged in virtualization, two as technology providers and one as a pioneering communications service provider. The fourth finalist is finding profits in another hot market trend: gigabit fiber deployments.

Core Blimey! Affirmed Eyes 5G Services Evolution Next
May 10, 2016
Virtualization startup Affirmed is getting ready to show off its take on 5G core network software, which will involve separating user control functions from a centralized control plane.

Light Reading Names Affirmed Networks as Finalist for Best New Product and Private Company of the Year
April 20, 2016
Affirmed Networks was named as a finalist in two key categories as part of Light Reading’s annual Leading Lights awards program that coincides with the Big Communications Event taking place in Austin, TX in May, including “Best New Product” and “Company of the Year (Private)“.

Affirmed SAP Launch Targets Automated Service Provisioning
April 7, 2016
Affirmed Networks unveiled its SAP service, which it claims reduces time-to-market and operational costs of introducing new services. Virtualized mobile networks vendor Affirmed Network launched its Service Automation Platform, which it claims allows mobile operators to reduce the time-to-market and operational costs of introducing new services by as much as 90%.

The Virtualization Revolution: NFV Unleashed – Part 6
April 5, 2016
The explosive growth of internet traffic has disrupted the technology industry, threatening to clog telecom networks… unless a new, scalable approach is implemented. This documentary explores the evolution of Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and the hurdles faced when switching from infrastructure-heavy, legacy networks to virtualized networks. Industry leaders and experts also uncover the benefits and use cases behind the transition from hardware-based networks to software-driven ones, making NFV a reality for network operators.

Affirmed’s Software Eliminates Manual Service Recipes
April 5, 2016
Operators want to create new services quickly, so Affirmed Networks has created service automation software with the fitting acronym ASAP — which stands for Affirmed Service Automation Platform. According to Angela Whiteford, Affirmed Networks’ VP of marketing, traditional service creation requires a lot of manual processing, involving subject matter experts for each new service such as firewalls, VPN-as-a-service, or launching a mobile virtual network operator, to name a few.

Affirmed Releases Service Automation Platform
April 4, 2016
Affirmed Networks introduced its Affirmed Service Automation Platform (ASAP) for legacy and virtualized networks of mobile operators. Affirmed Networks said its solution provides broad service automation across a wide range of standard network element interfaces, enabling non-programmers to quickly create service templates or recipes from existing methods of procedure (MOPs) and execute those recipes across the entire network.

NFV Moving to Deployment Phase, Virtualization Leaders Say
March 3, 2016
Affirmed Networks, Procera, ACG Research, Vasona weigh-in on virtualization
Network functions virtualization, or NFV, has come a long way in the last year, according to experts, who have noted movement from discussion to actual deployments on live networks. CEO of ACG Research Ray Mota joined Affirmed Networks CEO Hassan Ahmed and Jeff Mucci, RCR Wireless News CEO, to discuss how the NFV landscape has changed in the last year.

SDxCentral Weekly News Roundup – February 26, 2016
February 26, 2016
Hola from Barcelona! Here’s a roundup of the week’s news, much of it from Mobile World Congress, related to software defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV). There’s also a smattering of security to get you ready for next week’s RSA Conference.

NFV Roundup: Going Virtual at Mobile World Congress
February 26, 2016
We’ve detailed how last year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) was a launch point for emerging network functions virtualization (NFV) technology. This year’s MWC showed the story is evolving as NFV is reaching real-world deployment.

5G is Still Mostly Smoke & Mirrors
February 25, 2016
One of the big topics at Mobile World Congress this week was 5G, the next evolution of wireless networks, within which software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) promise to play significant roles. But in reality, there was very little hard 5G to be found.

EMC: Make Like the Doctor’s Tardis and Virtualise Telecoms
February 25, 2016
MWC16 EMC wants traditional and new communications service providers to use a single network function virtualisation scheme to introduce new services layered on the existing telecoms infrastructure. The Provider Cloud System (PCS) is a reference architecture for Network Functions Virtualisation Infrastructure (NFVI). By using it, communications service providers can virtualise their networks.

EMC Launches Provider Cloud System for the Telco Cloud
February 24, 2016
The storage giant unveiled its Provider Cloud System (PCS) at Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona. The PCS is software-defined by EMC’s Network Functions Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVI) which, says EMC, can support the full range of distributed, multi-service offerings that telcos are striving to offer with the added economies of cloud computing’s speed and cost efficiency.

Cubic Deploys Affirmed’s Virtualized GGSN
February 24, 2016
Virtually everything we use will be one day connected. The Internet of Things (IoT) and M2M technology is allowing our homes, cars, infrastructure and even shoes to access resources to make them more efficient. But all this connectivity is straining existing networks, which is forcing operators to find better alternatives. Cubic Telecom, a platform connectivity provider, has chosen Affirmed Networks’ virtualized Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) so it can provide its car “infotainment” solution around the world with greater reliability.

EMC Launches EMC Provider Cloud System
February 24, 2016
Today at Mobile World Congress EMC announced the new EMC Provider Cloud System (PCS), a software-defined Network Functions Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVi) platform designed to enable communications service providers’ (CSPs’) to deliver distributed, multi-service, carrier-grade cloud solutions quickly and economically.

VMware Demonstrates Accelerating Momentum for vCloud NFV at Mobile World Congress
February 23, 2016
At Mobile World Congress 2016, VMware, Inc., (NYSE: VMW) is showcasing the company’s momentum in helping communications service providers (CSPs) adopt network functions virtualization (NFV) to deliver the unified, hybrid Telco Cloud. The company has experienced a significant increase in customer deployments and pipeline year over year, as customers accelerate adoption of the company’s production-proven VMware vCloud NFV platform.

Vodafone to Deliver Machine-to-Machine (M2M), Connected Car Services
February 23, 2016
Affirmed Networks has been deployed by Vodafone to deliver Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications and Connected Car services over the operator´s global network infrastructure, the company said.

Affirmed Gets on the Virtual Road with Vodafone
February 23, 2016
Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD) is using Affirmed Networks Inc. ‘s virtualized Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) to support connected car and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications in Brazil, Germany, Spain and the US. A vEPC takes the standard 4G LTE packet core hardware gateway functions — tracking user mobility on the network, maintaining wireless data connections, and more — and runs it via software on Intel X86-based servers. (See Vodafone Uses Affirmed’s NFV for M2M.)

Saudi Telecom Pins NFV Future on OpenStack
February 22, 2016
Saudi Telecom (STC) has taken a strategic decision to use OpenStack technology for all new virtual network functions (VNFs), saying the alternatives did not match up in terms of cost benefits. Through a partnership with software developer Mirantis Inc., the Saudi Arabian telecom incumbent has already begun offering public cloud services based on OpenStack to customers in its domestic market, it has revealed today.

Orange Demos Multi-vendor NFV Solution, Vodafone Strikes NFV Deal for M2M
February 22, 2016
Using solutions from both Cisco and Nokia, Orange sought to ape a real-life carrier environment with network architecture from multiple suppliers and show advanced NFV and SDN capabilities can still improve service deployment, simplify network infrastructure and streamline operations.

Vodafone Uses Affirmed’s NFV for M2M
February 22, 2016
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.

Vodafone Invests in Virtualized Evolved Packet Core Solutions
February 22, 2016
Telecom network operator Vodafone has made investment in virtualized Evolved Packet Core (EPC) solutions to kick off Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications and Connected Car services over the 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.

Cubic Telecom Selects Affirmed Networks’ Virtualized Network Infrastructure
February 22, 2016
Telecom, a leading Platform and connectivity provider, today announced a partnership with Affirmed Networks, a leader in virtualized network infrastructure. This partnership further advances Cubic’s ongoing delivery of innovative IoT solutions, including Cubic’s Connected Car service offerings. Through this service, Cubic will enable the the ‘best possible’ connectivity experience for drivers across Europe, regardless of location, beginning in June 2016.

Facebook’s Plea to Telecom Companies: Let’s Work on 5G Together
February 22, 2016
Facebook Inc. needs mobile phone data networks to work better and faster. So they’re asking telecommunications companies to partner with them and share designs, in an initiative that could accelerate the spread of 5G connectivity… “We see 5G development starting in a lot of countries right now, particularly Japan, Korea and the U.S.,” said Hassan Ahmed, CEO of Acton, Massachusetts-based Affirmed Networks Inc., a supplier of equipment and software for mobile network operators. Carriers have already started to work together on getting to 5G networks, which can be five to 10 times faster than the current 4G networks, Ahmed said.

Juniper Networks Partners with Affirmed Networks for Next-Generation NFV-Based Architectures
February 22, 2016
Juniper Networks and Affirmed Networks announced the formation of a technology partnership focused on the development of solutions that help service providers transition quickly and efficiently to a virtualized mobile architecture. The goal of the partnership’s virtualized mobile network reference architecture is to enable wireless service providers to deploy new services faster and at a lower cost than legacy solutions.

Apple Encryption Update, CB Radio Comeback… 5 Things to Know Today
February 19, 2016
Apple’s refusal to open up the iPhone that belonged to one of the San Bernadino gunmen has elicited comments from both of the Democratic Party’s presidential hopefuls. Hillary Clinton said she can see both sides of the argument, and that she thinks most Americans can appreciate the importance of digital privacy, as well as the value of investigating the contacts on the gunman’s phone. Bernie Sanders said he supports Apple in its effort to protect customers’ privacy.

Juniper, NEC to Build NFV Offerings for Service Providers, Enterprises
February 19, 2016
Juniper Networks and NEC are combining resources to create network virtualization offerings aimed at service providers and enterprises. The two companies will develop network-functions virtualization (NFV) solutions that bring together Juniper’s networking equipment and its virtual network functions (VNFs)—including the vMX routing platform and vSRX virtual firewall—with NEC’s Cloud System, an OpenStack-based cloud infrastructure. In addition, the offerings will include OSS/BSS (operations support system and business support system), service orchestration and system integration tools and consulting services from NetCracker, a NEC subsidiary.

Juniper Takes Another Step on SDN and NFV with Affirmed Partnership
February 19, 2016
Building on its software defined networking strategy, networking company Juniper recently partnered with Affirmed Networks, a leader in virtualized mobile networks. Through the deal, the companies plan to develop solutions that can help service providers embrace next -generation NFV (network functions virtualization) based architectures. With the telecom industry invariably moving from hardware to software, the architecture supporting mobile networks is going to be virtualized on a big scale going forward. Considering this, and the fact that Juniper earns almost two-thirds of its revenues from service providers, the partnership seems to have a lot to offer for Juniper.

Juniper & Affirmed Target Virtual Core
February 19, 2016
Juniper is getting into the core of virtual mobile networks through a new deal with startup Affirmed Networks. Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) and Affirmed Networks Inc. are looking to build on the startup’s virtual Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) success with a virtual network architecture aimed at helping operators deploy new services faster and more cheaply.

Juniper Forays Into Mobile, Again
February 18, 2016
Juniper is making a move into mobile networking, announcing this week a partnership with Affirmed Networks, maker of a virtual evolved packet core (vEPC). This isn’t Juniper’s first try at mobile networking. In 2009, just when Juniper was expected to announce a strategic partnership with Starent Networks, Cisco swiped Starent away for $2.9 billion.

Juniper Networks Partners with Affirmed Networks to Help Mobile Operators
February 18, 2016
NEW DELHI: Tech giant Juniper Networks and Affirmed Networks have announced the formation of a technology partnership focused on the development of solutions that help service providers transition quickly and efficiently to a virtualized mobile architecture. The goal of the partnership’s virtualized mobile network reference architecture is to enable wireless service providers to deploy new services faster and at a lower cost than legacy solutions.

Juniper, Affirmed to Help Service Providers Become More Mobile
February 17, 2016
Juniper Networks and Affirmed Networks are pooling their resources to create a reference architecture to help service providers more easily transition to virtualized mobile architectures that will help them better respond to the rapid growth in the number of connected devices and competitors.

Juniper Starts Cooperation Deal with Affirmed Networks
February 17, 2016
Juniper Networks and Affirmed Networks have started a technology partnership aimed at developing solutions that help service providers transition quickly and efficiently to a virtualized mobile architecture.

Affirmed Nominated as Finalist for Best Technology Enabler Award by the GSMA
January 21, 2016
Affirmed Networks was nominated as a finalist in the Best Technology Enabler category for the 2016 GLOMO Awards by the GSMA. Winners of this year’s Glomo Awards will be honored during Mobile World Congress, which takes place on February 22-25 in Barcelona, Spain.

Control for Raging NFVs
January 21, 2016
Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) is all the rage in service provider environments, and NFV management has become an issue as a result. Two companies, HP Enterprise (HPE) and Affirmed Networks think they have solutions to address operational control of NFV deployments.

EMC Dips a Toe Into the NFV Business
January 5, 2016
EMC is getting into the business of helping service providers transform their networks via network functions virtualization (NFV), and one of its first moves is to align with Affirmed Networks to offer a virtual probe and analytics for mobile networks.
In March 2015, EMC announced the formation of the new Network NFV Group. Within the next several weeks, EMC will begin rolling out its initial NFV platform for telcos.

Microsoft Enters the Mobile Data Business
January 5, 2016
The network functions virtualization (NFV) player Affirmed Networks is involved with helping Microsoft provide mobile data service for Windows 10. Microsoft is working with the French cellular provider Transatel to offer mobile data service for laptops and tablets equipped with Windows 10. And Transatel, in turn, is deploying Affirmed Networks’ Mobile Content Cloud technology within Transatel’s point-of-presence in New York City.
In March 2015, EMC announced the formation of the new Network NFV Group. Within the next several weeks, EMC will begin rolling out its initial NFV platform for telcos.

French Mobile Virtual Network Enabler Transatel Providing 3G/4G LTE SIM to Microsoft
January 4, 2016
Tech powerhouse Microsoft, in partnership with Transatel, is bringing 3G and 4G LTE connectivity to Windows 10 devices; customers will be able to purchase cellular data service in-browser with no carrier interaction. Transatel provides various support services to mobile virtual network operators in Europe. The company’s SIM 901 can provide cellular connectivity across geographies as it’s not affixed to a certain country. Currently, Transatel offers the service in 38 countries and plans to expand to 50 in the first quarter of 2016.

IEEE Tackles SDN, NFV and ‘Softwarization’ Coming of Age
December 18, 2015
Software is nothing new, but the reach of software solutions is reshaping the technology space. The telecom market is not immune to this reshaping as networks are increasingly taking on the appearance of data centers that for years have relied on virtualization software technologies. In looking to shape the impact of these technologies, standards bodies have been working overtime to bring together ecosystem participants in order to provide some structure to the wide-open world of software.

Spain’s Aire Networks Taps Affirmed VEPC Platform for NFC Deployment
December 17, 2015
Affirmed Networks scored a deal with Spain-based mobile network provider Aire Networks to provide its Virtual Evolved Packet Core platform as the foundation for Aire’s network virtualization plans. As part of the deal, Aire is set to deploy Affirmed’s Mobile Content Cloud solution to help in the virtualization of its mobile network infrastructure.

Affirmed Lands Deal In Spain
December 14, 2015
Aire Networks’ selection of Affirmed Networks’ technology is an example of the growing interest in NFV from emerging operators who want to experience the flexibility, cost savings and new revenue opportunities that the architecture provides.

Light Reading Eurobites
December 14, 2015
Saudi Telecom deploys virtual packet core technology from Affirmed Networks Inc. to develop IoT services.

FirstNews Briefs: Affirmed Networks
December 14, 2015
Affirmed Networks, virtualized of mobile network company, announced that it has been selected by Aire Networks, a mobile network provider based in Spain, to provide the Virtual Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) platform that will serve as the foundation for the virtualization of the operator’s mobile network. As part of this commitment, Aire Networks will deploy Affirmed Networks’ Mobile Content Cloud solution as the foundation for virtualizing their mobile network infrastructure. Virtualized networks offer carriers like Aire flexibility, cost savings, new revenue opportunities and an increase speed of deployment.

NFV/SDN Reality Check: NFV TCO deployment analysis – Episode 40
December 11, 2015
On this week’s NFV/SDN Reality Check, we spoke with Angela Whiteford, VP of marketing and product management at Affirmed Networks, which put out its own report on the TCO topic that found adopting a virtualized evolved packet core solution can reduced capital expense by 69% and operating expense by 67% on average, and mobile operators were able to deploy a virtualized network much more quickly (in as little as six months) than they were with traditional networks (15 months on average) resulting in quicker time to market and time to revenue.

Boston Business Journal Executive Profile of Hassan Ahmed
December 3, 2015
Hassan Ahmed is at it again. After helping build the former Cascade Communications and later Sonus Networks, Ahmed is proving yet again it’s never too late for a 50-something technology whiz to start a new company. His latest venture: Affirmed Networks, an Acton-based telecom firm making cutting-edge products for mobile data networks.
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Channel Partner Program Roundup: Affirmed Networks
December 3, 2015
Virtualized mobile network provider Affirmed Networks has been selected by Canadian telecom provider Telus to support the delivery of their Internet of Things (IoT) service offerings.
Affirmed Networks will use its Mobile Content Cloud solution to help Telus scale its network to meet increasing IoT workload demands, according to the announcement.

Telus Launching IoT Platform with Affirmed Networks
December 3, 2015
With an eye on scaling its Internet of Things service offerings, Canadian provider Telus has partnered with Affirmed Networks to deploy a cloud-based platform optimized for IoT workloads.
Specifically, Affirmed Networks will provide Telus with its Mobile Content Cloud solution, which works with 2G, 3G and 4G LTE packet cores and includes policy and charging control, content and video optimization, Wi-Fi connectivity, service chaining, deep packet inspection, heuristics and real-time analytics.

Telus Deploys vEPC to Offer Internet of Things Services
December 2, 2015
Canadian operator Telus has chosen Affirmed Networks’ virtual evolved packet core (vEPC) technology to support delivery of Telus’s Internet of Things (IoT) services over its mobile network, serving 8.4 million subscribers.

WiFi Calling Might Be a First NFV Use Case for Comcast
November 20, 2015
In October, Affirmed announced it was offering fully virtualized WiFi gateway functionality for mobile and fixed operators to offer virtualized WiFi access, which would allow WiFi calling as a new service.
“We’re seeing a lot of interest from fixed operators. They see WiFi calling as the big app,” says Angela Whiteford, VP of marketing for Affirmed. “Look at Comcast; they’ve blanketed the East Coast with WiFi. The cost point to get into the [WiFi calling] market is very low.”

Saudi Telecom Deploys NFV-based M2M Platform
November 13, 2015
In what the communications service provider billed as a strategic move, Saudi Telecom Co. deployed a virtual evolved packet core specific to machine-to-machine services. The vEPC was provided by Affirmed Networks and enables Saudi Telecom to provide real-time service information and other features through network function virtualization.

NFV Made IoT Profitable for STC, Says Affirmed
November 12, 2015
One of the Middle East’s biggest service providers might just have given a massive boost to the business case for NFV technology. Saudi Telecom Co. (STC), the telecom incumbent in Saudi Arabia, has started using a virtualized evolved packet core (vEPC) developed by Affirmed Networks Inc. to support Internet of Things (IoT) services on its commercial network.

Affirmed Intros Virtualized Wi-Fi Gateway
November 2, 2015
ACTON, Mas. — Affirmed Networks, the leader in virtualized mobile networks, today announced another market disruption by offering Evolved Packet Data Gateway (ePDG) and Trusted Wi-Fi Access Gateway (TWAG) functionality that enable fixed and mobile operators to offer virtualized Wi-Fi access as part of their overall network experience. The combination of Wi-Fi with cellular services on a single platform allows operators unified Radio Access Network (RAN) access for mobile services, and allows fixed and mobile operators to expand their network coverage, add new services, such as Wi-Fi calling, and improve the overall consumer experience.

Affirmed Networks adds WiFi Gateways to Virtual EPC Portfolio
October 28, 2015
Virtualisation specialist Affirmed Networks has added WiFi gateways – including IPSec encryption – to its portfolio of virtualised core functions. The company said that the addition is designed to meet demands from licenced-spectrum mobile operators, MVNOs and WiFi-first providers for the ability to provide Voice over WiFi services.

SDx Central Weekly News Roundup
October 23, 2015
Here’s a sunset roundup of news related to software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) from the week: Some top Dell executives have departed to “pursue other interests,” reports Fortune. These include Don Ferguson, CTO of software, Nnamdi Orakwue, vice president of software, and George Reese, executive director for Dell’s cloud solutions group.

The Next Billion Dollar Companies – Where are They Now?
October 19, 2015
No more than six months after the launch of Forbes’ inaugural Next Billion Dollar Startups list (produced with TrueBridge Capital Partners), the list is already outdated. And in the best way possible.

AT&T Shows How Serious it is about SDN, NFV, and Open Source
August 20, 2015
In case there were any doubt, it’s becoming clearer every day that it’s no joke: That old, staid telecom giant known as AT&T is actually turning its engineering ship around in a big, big way, and it’s not your grandfather’s or grandmother’s network anymore… It’s been well reported that AT&T wants to virtualize 75 percent of its network by 2020, and it intends to reach a critical 5 percent by the end of this year. It’s a lofty goal. As John Donovan, senior executive vice president of AT&T Technology and Operations, said at AT&T’s analyst conference last week: “What we’re doing is ambitious in scale and scope, and it’s aggressive in its timeframe and investment.” But it’s necessary and central to AT&T’s transformation.

Cisco Systems, Ericsson Losing Business to 200 Person Startup
August 18, 2015
Cisco Systems and Ericsson are among the big companies losing market share to a fast-growing startup — Acton, Mass.-based Affirmed Networks. Moreover, there’s no reason to believe that these incumbents can fight back. So should you sell Cisco’s shares? No — better to give the new CEO a chance to see if he can fix what ails it. Before getting into that, why do startups outrun big companies? Big companies got that way by building new businesses that got big and profitable. Their leaders look at the fast-changing world in which they compete and conclude that if their company does not make a product, their customers don’t need it.

A New Report from IHS Predicts the NFV Market is Set to Explode Five-fold Beginning this Year
July 22, 2015
Analyst firms continue to report data backing growing demand for network functions virtualization across the telecom space. The latest comes from IHS, which this week noted the global market for NFV hardware, software and services is set to surge from $2.3 billion this year to $11.6 billion in 2019. The numbers come from IHS’ latest “NFV Hardware, Software and Services” report. The firm claims service providers are still “early” in their transformation towards virtualized network platforms, which it said is a 10- to 15-year process. Revenues from outsourced services geared towards NFV projects is expected to post a 71% compound annual growth rate from 2014 to 2019, with revenue from software-only video content delivery network functions for managing and distributing data forecast to grow 30-fold between 2015 and 2019.

Study: NFV Market will hit $11.6B in 2019
July 20, 2015
The global market for network functions virtualization (NFV) is expected to reach $11.6 billion in 2019, up from $2.3 billion in 2015, according to IHS. “NFV represents operators’ shift from a hardware focus to software focus, and our forecasts show this,” said Michael Howard, senior research director for carrier networks at IHS, in a release. “We believe NFV software will comprise over 80 percent of the $11.6 billion total NFV revenue in 2019.” He added that the software is always a much larger investment than the server, storage and switch hardware, representing about $4 of every $5 spent on NFV.

NFV Study Quantifies Benefits of a Virtual EPC
July 16, 2015
ACG Research has released a study showing that virtualizing the functions of mobile Evolved Packet Core (EPC) technology really can save mobile operators bundles of money. Virtualizing the EPC can save up to 68 percent on capex and 67 percent on opex, says ACG in a study sponsored by VMWare and Affirmed Networks. This is based on comparing bids from traditional EPC vendors, which package their solutions as a collection of hardware and software, with virtualized EPC products that use the network functions virtualization (NFV) approach of putting software functions onto commodity hardware.

The Time for Mobile Network Operators to Move to NFV is Now
July 16, 2015
We live in a generation where everyone wants to be, or possibly even needs to be connected all the time. Video streams are available to all mobile devices, relating to a rise in mobile network traffic. In fact, according to an ACG Research report, mobile network throughput will increase at a 50 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years.

NFV Promises Cost Savings of Nearly 70%
July 15, 2015
Efficiency gains and cost savings are often touted as key attractions of virtualization technology, but a new piece of research has attached some compelling numbers to that message, arguing that mobile network operators could reduce capital expenditure by 68% and operating expenditure by 67% through the use of NFV.

NFV Cuts Costs Immediately
July 15, 2015
Affirmed Networks Inc. and VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) teamed with ACG Research to study the financial benefits to operators of NFV. The team created the following infographic to illustrate how network operators can start seeing benefits right away.

A New NFV Study from ACG Research Showed Investment Payback in Three Years
July 15, 2015
One of the bigger hurdles facing mobile operators as they look at deploying virtualized network functions is lining up capital and operational expense models with expectations. A new report from ACG Research and sponsored by Affirmed Networks and VMware, looks to tackle that obstacle with a total cost of ownership model claimed to provide a detailed business case outlining the benefits of network functions virtualization for mobile operators.

KDDI Completes Successful NFV Proof of Concept Testing with Affirmed Networks
June 29, 2015
KDDI R&D Laboratories Inc. (“KDDI R&D labs”, President & CEO, Yasuyuki Nakajima), in cooperation with Hewlett-Packard Japan, Ltd. (Managing Director, Hitoshi Yoshida), Cisco Systems G.K. (President and General Manager, Miyuki Suzuki), Nokia Solutions and Networks Japan Corp. (President, Juha-Pekka Takala), Tech Mahindra Limited (Head, Amitava Ghosh), and NEC Corporation (President (Representative Director), Nobuhiro Endo) has successfully completed world’s first proof of concept (PoC) of fully automated, closed-loop operation process for telecom networks consisting of virtualized equipment for mobile and fixed services.

Affirmed VP Interviewed at TIA on the Business Case for Cloud & NFV within 5G Network Architecture
June 17, 2015
Amit Tiwari, Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Systems Engineering, joins other industry leaders to discuss use cases regarding the important question of how network architecture will migrate towards 5G.

At Affirmed Networks, Mother Nature’s a Big Perk
June 3, 2015
Hassan Ahmed, chief executive at Affirmed Networks, stood at the entrance of NARA Park in Acton, where paved parking lots and brick office buildings meet the woods. “Silicon Valley doesn’t have this,” he said. “It’s so built up.”

Network Virtualization Emerging as New Trend
May 22, 2015
“Approximately 80 percent of major banks around the world as well as the telecom operators, including AT&T and NTT, are reducing their network costs while enhancing security by means of network virtualization,” – Guido Appenzeller, CTSO Networking and Strategy at VMWare

Leading Lights Finalists 2015: Company of the Year (Private)
May 18, 2015
Light Reading received 16 strong entries for the best company (private) awards category, and whittling these down to a shortlist was no easy task. But we ultimately thought seven of the players made a strong case for getting through to the final round.

VMware and Network Function Virtualization Partners Demonstrate Real-World Solutions at NFV World Congress
May 4, 2015
Affirmed Networks, Colt Technology Services, Cyan and Versa Networks Team with VMware to Highlight the Transformative Power of the Telco Cloud

Forbes Names Affirmed Networks to ‘Next Billion Dollar Start-Up’ List
April 15, 2015
Startups that jump out to billion-dollar valuations are so rare they’ve come to be known as unicorns. Say hello to tomorrow’s unicorns.

The Investors Behind the Next Billion Dollar Startups
April 15, 2015
While the aim of this latest Forbes list is to honor the founders of the next billion dollar startups and their teams, credit is also due to the investors backing them.

LG U+ Deploys NFV With Affirmed Networks
March 16, 2015
LG U+ is gearing up the deploying new networks and services upon NFV (Network Functions Virtualization) towards both wired and wireless networks.

With Domain 2.0 Backing, Affirmed Networks Rides the NFV Wave
March 13, 2015
When Affirmed Networks got off the ground five years ago, it set out to build a product with few, if any, clear customers. Few telcos were seriously considering virtualizing the complex network hardware that underpins cellular data and voice networks, known as the evolved packet Core (EPC).

Affirmed Networks and Elephant Talk Discuss Finer Points of Capitalizing on NFV Solutions with Current Analysis at Mobile World Congress
March 10, 2015
Relative to NFV, SDN deployments, Hassan Ahmed, Chairman and CEO at Affirmed Networks says “I think the market is here. The last couple years were about evangelizing. I think it’s actually arrived.”

Network Function Virtualization trends
March 5, 2015
What NFV trends are shaping our networks? Angela Whiteford, Vice President of Marketing and Product Management at Affirmed Networks describes the NFV evolution at Mobile World Congress 2015.

Don’t Wait and See on NFV for EPC
February 23, 2015
For years we have been hearing about how virtualization has revolutionized the enterprise data center, providing a wide range of benefits from both a business and technology standpoint.

Vodafone Spain: Virtual In More Ways Than One
January 24, 2015
Interesting developments in Spain – particularly in the light of Google’s possible elevation to the status of MVNO (mobile virtual network operator).