Windstream (Nasdaq: WIN) on Wednesday reached another milestone in its migration as a business service provider by gaining both MEF 9 and MEF 14 technical specifications for its MPLS-enabled Virtual LAN services.
Having these certifications in hand means that when Windstream pitches potential enterprise customers, they will know they are working with a service provider that is following accepted Ethernet standards.
MEF conducts testing and certification for network services and equipment with third-party testing lab Iometrix, which oversees the MEF Certification Program and verifies compliance of service providers' services to MEF technical specifications through a series of tests on MEF-approved test suites.
As part of the process, Iometrix verifies Ethernet services at the UNI (user network interface), which is the point where the provider interfaces with the subscriber to deliver the services.
Service providers getting MEF certification has become a continued trend in the telecom industry. Besides Windstream, Frontier Communications (Nasdaq: FTR), which just launched wholesale Ethernet services, also told FierceTelecom that it is putting the elements in place to pursue certification for its growing suite of Ethernet services.
The MEF itself has been very active in the certification realm. During its recent Q1 2013 meeting in San Diego, the MEF announced 20 equipment vendors that now offer Carrier Ethernet 2.0 (CE 2.0) certified compatible products.
With CE 2.0, service providers and vendors will be able to offer a number of new features including multiple Classes of Service (CoS) and an easier interconnection process for eight standard service types, in addition to enabling efficiencies for mobile backhaul applications.
For more:
- see the release
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