Customers who purchase certified MEF 3.0 SD-WAN and Carrier Ethernet services can have confidence that they conform to the highest industry standards
Los Angeles, 20 May 2020 – MEF is pleased to announce that 24 service providers from around the world now offer a combined total of 77 certified MEF 3.0 SD-WAN and Carrier Ethernet (CE) services. These innovative providers have demonstrated that their solutions conform to rigorous specifications established by the industry’s defining authority for standardized network services.
“The large number of MEF 3.0 certifications celebrated today represents a key milestone on our journey to develop a global federation of dynamic, trusted, and certified services that power enterprise digital transformation,” said Nan Chen, President, MEF. “I wish to congratulate each service provider for achieving MEF 3.0 certification and demonstrating their commitment to delivering innovative solutions with compelling value for customers.”
All certified MEF 3.0 service providers are listed in the MEF Services Certification Registry.
Certified MEF 3.0 SD-WAN Service Providers
In March 2020, MEF announced that Comcast Business, PCCW Global, Spectrum Enterprise, and Telia Company were the first service providers in the world to become MEF 3.0 SD-WAN certified, demonstrating conformity to the industry’s only standard for SD-WAN managed services.
MEF 3.0 SD-WAN certification – which has now shifted from the pilot phase to general availability – is expected to play an important role in driving growth of the global managed SD-WAN services market, which Frost & Sullivan projects will reach nearly $6.4 billion by 2023.
“As one of the first service providers to achieve MEF 3.0 SD-WAN certification, we’re committed to being a technology and standards leader in the Ethernet ecosystem to improve the quality, management and interoperability of Ethernet services for our customers,” said Bob Victor, SVP Product Management, Comcast Business. “We’re encouraged by the expanding number of certified MEF 3.0 service providers and are proud to be included among the leaders offering the industry’s most innovative WAN services.”
MEF 3.0 SD-WAN certification testing is conducted by Spirent, a MEF Accredited Certification Test Partner. Companies interested in certification of SD-WAN managed services and products should contact sd-wan@mef.net for more information.
Certified MEF 3.0 CE Service Providers
Orchestration-ready MEF 3.0 CE services provide the highest level of performance, assurance, and agility available in what Vertical Systems Group estimates is a $60+ billion global CE services market. MEF 3.0 CE certification is available for a set of subscriber services (E-Line, E-LAN, E-Tree) and a set of operator services (Access E-Line and Transit E-Line).
Twenty-one service providers with home offices based in every geographic region of the world offer a total of 73 certified MEF 3.0 CE services. These pioneering providers include:
Jeremy Wubs, Senior Vice President, Marketing for Bell Business Markets, Bell Canada
“Bell has been a MEF member for more than a decade, and we are proud to play a leading role in the development of the standards that drive value for customers. As the only Canadian service provider to offer MEF 3.0 certified services, along with the country’s largest team of active MEF certified professionals, Bell is supporting our customers in their digital transformation journeys with SLA backed performance aligned with international standards.”
Franck Morales, Vice President, Connectivity Services at Orange Business Services and MEF Board Advisory Director
“As a network-native digital services company, Orange Business Services is proud to be one of the first global service providers to deliver a certified MEF 3.0 Carrier Ethernet service, and we are pleased to see how new SD-WAN certifications are gaining more and more traction. Never has it been more important for the industry to have agile, flexible and trusted SD-WAN solutions combined with high-performance underlay connectivity to support the new digital needs of enterprises around the world.”
Tomi Airola, Head of Business Networking, Telia Company
“Telia is proud to be the first service provider in the world to have successfully achieved both MEF 3.0 Carrier Ethernet and SD-WAN certifications. We view our MEF 3.0 certifications as key steps in addressing the requirements of our enterprise and wholesale customers to accelerate our customers’ digital transformation journey. Alignment with the latest industry standards is a continuous job in which Telia Company invests to help customers simplify their onboarding process and daily operations.”
Chris Boone, Vice President of Business Services, Sparklight Business
“MEF 3.0 certification demonstrates the ongoing commitment of Sparklight Business to deliver the most advanced and secure Ethernet services across our footprint. Our business customers can be confident the Carrier-grade Ethernet services they’re receiving are compatible with a global standard that will support all of their business needs well into the future.”
Juan Carlos Naranjo, Chief Technology Officer, UFINET
“We are proud to be MEF members since 2015. During all these years, UFINET has witnessed the evolution of information technology and the important role that MEF has played in it. We consider MEF to be a keystone in today´s telecommunications developments, even more so in Latin America, a rapidly developing region with enormous growth potential. All MEF certifications have represented important milestones for UFINET, as we strive to become the neutral telecommunications operator of reference, worldwide. MEF 3.0 certification allows us to have a clear competitive advantage, as it ensures that products and services provided by UFINET meet the needs of customers through an effective quality management and homogenous system. Our decision to work with MEF 3.0 accreditation demonstrates our commitment to continually improve our products and services. We are proud to be MEF 3.0 compliant.”
Isaias Alegria, Chief Technology Officer, Marcatel
“Being the first Mexican carrier to achieve MEF 3.0 certification is very rewarding for us and our customers. It is a guarantee that our Carrier Ethernet network fulfills the highest standards for performance and transparency. We are very pleased to be a member of the MEF organization. It has been very helpful in allowing us to align with the worldwide industry, as Marcatel is a worldwide service provider. We will continue to evolve in the process of delivering high-performance services while seeking the full satisfaction of our customers.”
Mr. To Dung Thai, Vice President of VNPT – Chairman of VNPT VinaPhone
“VNPT is proud to offer a broad portfolio of certified MEF 3.0 Carrier Ethernet services that comply with the industry’s highest global standards. This is the development goal of VNPT as the corporation always desires to bring customers high quality products and services. Through MEF 3.0 certification, VNPT once again affirms our position as a world-class telecommunications service provider, contributing to digital transformation in Vietnam.”
Dang Tung Son, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, CMC Telecom
“Ultimately we strive for this level of certification so that our global and domestic customers can have guaranteed peace of mind on compatibility and ease of integration. By becoming the first MEF 3.0 certified service provider in the world, we can proudly say that we are able to deliver scalable, reliable next-generation Ethernet services to enterprise and carrier customers across the diverse connectivity in the metro markets we serve.”
Mohamed Asri Jaafar, Chief Executive Officer, Fiberail
“We are proud to be among the first in Malaysia and among the earliest in the world to receive this certification. The certification acknowledges our commitment and determination to be at par with the global standard in the provisioning of metro network services and delivering world class services to our customers. It also recognises our continuous efforts and capabilities in keeping abreast with advanced technology innovation and delivering dynamic products and services to the market. With the certification, our customers can look forward to more secured, advanced network services that meet global standards and are scalable to fulfill their future communication requirements and beyond, as part of our efforts in elevating Malaysia into a digital Nation.”
MEF recently published a new white paper – MEF 3.0 Carrier Ethernet Certification Business Case for Service Providers – that explores how certification can strengthen customer relations, increase revenue opportunities, and improve operational efficiencies for retail and wholesale service providers. MEF 3.0 CE certification validates performance excellence, provides competitive differentiation, and enables service providers to establish a standards-compliant presence within a federation of automated networks, among other business benefits. Ultimately, the combination of certified services and MEF 3.0 LSO Sonata APIs will enable service providers to better address enterprise demand for rapidly delivered, customizable data services that are available beyond the network footprint of any individual service provider.
MEF 3.0 CE certification testing is conducted by Iometrix, a MEF Accredited Certification Test Partner, via an on-demand cloud-based virtual test platform. Companies interested in certification of MEF 3.0 CE services or technologies should contact MEF (certification@mef.net) and Iometrix (info@iometrix.com) for more information.
About MEF
An industry association of 200 member companies, MEF is driving development of a global federation of dynamic, trusted, and certified services that power enterprise digital transformation. MEF 3.0 services are designed to provide an on-demand, cloud-centric experience with user- and application-directed control over network resources and service capabilities. MEF 3.0 services are delivered over automated, virtualized, and interconnected networks powered by LSO, SDN, and NFV. MEF produces service standards, LSO frameworks, LSO APIs, MEF 3.0 Proof of Concept Showcases, and certification programs for services, technologies, and professionals. MEF 3.0 work will enable automated delivery of standardized Carrier Ethernet, Optical Transport, IP, SD-WAN, SD-WAN Security, and other Layer 4-7 services across multiple provider networks. For more information: https://www.MEF.net and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @MEF_Forum.
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Media Contact:
Ashley Schulte
Connect 2 Communications for MEF
mef@connect2comm.com