Telefonica Brazil lined up vendors for a key network integration project covering its mobile and fixed networks, which are being converged onto a single IP transport network.

The 5G-ready IP transport network is a building block of Telefonica’s Fusion Network Project in Brazil, which uses automation to incorporate services onto a single network to optimise operations and lower infrastructure costs.

Telefonica picked Cisco and NEC as vendors for the project, which covers simplifying its network architecture and operations, along with automating multi-layer systems across packet, optical and microwave domains.

The project also included segment routing IPv6 to help create a unified architecture with network slicing capabilities.

Telefonica’s goal is to simply the launch of new 5G-based services by its Vivo consumer brand in the country.

Cisco provided IP network routers, a software-defined network set up and various controllers to enable multi-vendor and multi-layer automation within Telefonica’s network.

The vendor is also providing advisory services.

NEC is serving as a network integrator and is providing local engineering capabilities to help migrate thousand of nodes onto the new platform.

Telefonica Vivo initially launched a pilot non-standalone 5G network in two cities in 2020.