“A good partner was also instrumental to realize

“ A good partner was also instrumental to realize the smooth transition to IPv6 as the coverage of the transition involved various network elements, their access networks and end-user terminals,” Huawei professional consulting services, was engaged with these considerations.

.......(another sign of the Ghost partner)

SingTel Addressing the HOW in IPv6 Transition

The global boom in Internet services has resulted in the shortage of IPv4 addresses, and many Service Providers are planning for the transition to adopt IPv6.

The SingTel Group is among the first to have started planning for the transition. “We have started this timely IPv6 journey, with all members within the SingTel Group sharing a common vision together,” says David Ng, Vice President from SingTel’s International Group.

SingTel is a strategic investor in the region’s most successful mobile operations. In addition to its wholly-owned subsidiary, Optus in Australia, the Group investments in leading operators in the region including Thailand’s Advanced Info Service, Airtel in India and Africa, Globe Telecom in the Philippines, Telkomsel in Indonesia, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited in Bangladesh and Warid Telecom in Pakistan. Through Airtel, the Group also has presence in Africa. The Group’s footprint now covers a population of more than 2 billion across Asia Pacific and Africa and serves 424 million mobile customers in 25 countries.

The Added Value of IPv6

From February 2011, the IANA issued the last top level (/8) block of free IPv4 addresses, bringing the Internet one step closer to IPv4 address exhaustion. This is a clear call for industry players to get their IPv6 transition plans ready.

“Feedback from the industry indicates that now is a timely window to embark on the transition to IPv6. There are several IPv6 solutions available in the market,” David notes. “However, the approach is not a one size fits all propositions. “We are not just looking at a certain part of our network. Instead, we should re-look the possibility of transforming the entire ecosystem, taking into account any new opportunities that may translate to business and network capabilities.”

Service providers should balance their investment and opportunities during the IPv6 transition. They should also consider the third parties involved in this transformation. “Though most new equipment types are IPv6 ready, we should question if there are enough applications to satisfy the IPv6 adoption drive for consumers?”

Though there may be more questions pending for IPv6, SingTel believes in being prepared. With a well-defined IPv6 transition strategy, the respective preparations to adopt IPv6 are a must to be in place in today’s dynamic environment.

When asked to elaborate on the reason for early planning, David smiles and points out that, actually, IPv6 transition brings more opportunities than challenges to the Group, going beyond mere business sustainability. “The abundance of IP addresses translates to new areas of innovation in technology that will bring more value to SingTel Group’s customers.

Implementing the transition is clearly the next step forward. I see the value added by IPv6 transition in two perspectives.”

“From the business perspective, we will need to consider the rapid proliferation of smartphones and other devices, and ensure that we mitigate against the risk in not being able to sustain the growing needs of our customers.

From the opportunity perspective, we are already observing the world of generation C, or the connected generation. With M2M applications expected to come in a big way, there will be many more connected devices and applications that could transform the Internet experience”

David believes that customers can benefit from richer services enabled by IPv6, or even a combination of IPv4/IPv6 addresses as “The Internet of Things” constantly evolves.

Defining the “How”

“We will not have a one-size-for-all strategy; I think the more important thing is to address the “How” – how to implement the transition – in view of the common drivers towards the transition. Individual associates will then define the “When” and “What” within the “How” to execute the transition relevant to their local context. That was the overall approach adopted by us.”

In this case, David had proposed taking an “outside-in” approach for the IPv6 transition as the first step. “This examines the environment and observes new trends to form a direction, defines how best to close the gap, and further considers how to balance the investment required from both the technical and business perspectives.” By having a good understanding of what the landscape may look like, SingTel can smoothly refine and implement the transformation successfully.

“A good partner was also instrumental to realize the smooth transition to IPv6 as the coverage of the transition involved various network elements, their access networks and end-user terminals,” Huawei professional consulting services, was engaged with these considerations.

Moving Ahead with Valuable Experience

The project which commenced in March 2011 had adopted a vendor-agnostic approach. The IPv6 transition consultation was facilitated by a Joint Regional IPv6 Project Management Office (PMO) to ensure the project and its deliverables are delivered smoothly.

Huawei is now in the final stages of delivering the relevant IPv6 technical consultation services on both their wireless and wireline network for SingTel’s IPv6 project with its Professional Services arm. Coupled with industry scans by Huawei Business Consulting, the project has resulted in fulfilling the required “outside-in analysis” in addition to recommendations in technical strategy, solution architecture and testing.

“Huawei has put together a very experienced team for this project, which is a big help to us. The engagement between Huawei and us has been very positive,” David said. “With Huawei’s strong support as our consultant, we have started the journey on the right footing,” he adds.

http://www.huawei.com/ilink/en/solutions/broa.../HW_104785

..........a lot of info in this.....ck companies mentioned with Amino Partners and footsteps of Ipv6 flow.

Rock On.......the Cap'n will have fun with this