Comcast is the first major U.S. cable operator to join the Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP), a project focused on creating an open source framework for network automation.
Comcast, on board as a silver-level member, joins other service providers that have joined the ranks of ONAP, including China Unicom, Windstream, AT&T, Bell, Orange, and China Mobile.
Other newmembers include Fujitsu, Infosys, Netcracker Technology and Samsung.
ONAP, which aims to transform and automate networks using software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV), said its membership has doubled in about six months after launch, noting it now has 50 members and 900 contributors.
Comcast, as the current cable operator example, has been eyeing an eventual migration toward a more virtualized network, including a new, software-driven form of the Converged Cable Access Platform.
