Mavenir Systems is using the virtual evolved packet core (vEPC) technology it acquired from Brocade coupled with its cloud radio access network (C-RAN) to create a virtualized next-gen core and access network that can also deliver at the network edge.

In fact, Mavenir is touting its technology as being a way for operators to deliver certain key applications like video, but consume less processing power.

Pardeep Kohli, CEO of Mavenir, said that Brocade’s vEPC assets were appealing because unlike some of the other vEPCs on the market, Brocade’s product line could be used at the network edge. “We believe we can address the whole low latency at the edge market,” Kohli said in an interview with SDxCentral.

Mavenir purchased Brocade’s vEPC assets in July and said at the time that it would hire certain Brocade employees associated with the vEPC product line as well as the company’s research and development facility in India.

Kohli said the Brocade vEPC requires less than 10 percent of the processing power typically needed, making it ideal for edge computing. And when packaged with Mavenir’s cloud RAN product, it can handle what Kohli calls “high-demand” applications like video. “With video picking up more and more, operators need solutions that can be deployed on the edge so they don’t have to backhaul video all over the country,” he said.

When asked if Mavenir planned to make further acquisitions in the virtual space, Kohli said that the company is always looking for assets at a good price that fit into its model, which is to make it easier for operators to make the transition to virtualized networks. In particular, he said that he could envision packaging Mavenir’s virtual-RAN and vEPC with some applications. By bundling the software with the applications, it would be easier for operators to deploy and manage. And it also might make their innovation cycles much faster.

“One thing I have learned over the past 10 years is that innovation comes in the application space, and service providers can’t keep up,” he said, noting that this type of bundled solution would make it possible for operators to spin up new applications quickly.

But he also said that operators may benefit from thinking about applications differently. In other words, instead of deploying applications across an entire network, they might benefit from offering certain applications in certain environments. For example, the applications available in a home might be different than an enterprise.

Mavenir has been positioning itself to be a leader in the C-RAN market and is also very involved in extensible RAN (xRAN), which would make the C-RAN an open solution that can be used with different vendor products. Mavenir is pushing for those open standards through the xRAN Foundation.

In the meantime, the company is making progress with C-RAN implementations. Kohli said the company is currently working on three operator trials —two in North America and one in India.

SNS Research estimates that C-RAN will be a $9 billion market by year-end and will have a compounded annual growth rate of about 24 percent between 2017 and 2020.