Deutsche Telekom announced that it has connected the first live customer to its disaggregated broadband network, using routing software from RtBrick running on bare-metal switch hardware, to deliver up to 1000Mbps of internet connectivity.
A new era for its network
The first subscriber was connected to exchange in Stuttgart, Germany, with a wider roll-out being planned. According to the announcement, this followed an extensive period of testing and a pilot that included comprehensive integration into operational support systems.
Hans-Joerg Kolbe, Chief Product Owner Access 4.0 at Deutsche Telekom, said,
“Disaggregation represents a new era for our network, and RtBrick joins us in providing full-stack BNG (Broadband Network Gateway) running on the Access 4.0 spine/leaf fabric connected to our IP core production network.”
The RtBrick routing software acts as the BNG in Deutsche Telekom’s network, which terminates broadband subscriber traffic, along with providing other functions, such as quality of service, lawful intercept and IPTV. The software runs in a Linux container on bare-metal-switches, configured using ZTP (Zero-Touch-Provisioning) and programmed through RtBrick’s open APIs. It replaces traditional chassis-based routing systems.