Intense competition for residential and business customers is forcing telecommunication service providers to seek out new revenue-generating engines. The continuous search for innovative services has led to the introduction of new video and data applications, such as Video on Demand (VoD), IPTV, online gaming, business VPN, and disaster-recovery services. These advanced IP-based offerings require the support of an appropriate packet transport data network. Network operators are therefore under pressure to cost-effectively cope with these demands - to find innovative ways to succeed in a highly competitive environment while leveraging existing infrastructure and investing in new technology and equipment where needed.

As a result, network operators are reevaluating their next generation of services together with the networks required to sustain them for the long run. Faced with the challenge of future growth and market leadership retention, carriers require an optimal network transformation path, one that enables them to increase and differentiate their existing residential offerings while simultaneously addressing the business services market.

The next generation network architecture is clear: multiple services based mainly on Internet Protocol (IP) delivered via a packet-based network over a fully integrated optical transport network. This is the optimal economical way to meet the current as well as future growth in bandwidth demand. The result is significant interest in merging packet and optical technology into a converged packet-optical solution. Essentially, "packet-optical transport network" refers to the integration of packet networking technologies such as Carrier Ethernet and MPLS with optical network technologies like WDM and reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM).

ECI's 1Net architecture leverages a common framework for WDM/ROADM, MSPP, and Carrier Ethernet. In particular, ECI is focused on providing transport of Ethernet solutions across any telecommunication technology and any protocol. ECI's 1Net framework enables full Carrier Ethernet service integration between the XDM® Family of MSPPs , and the 9000 Carrier Ethernet Family, providing a unique combination of innovative equipment, integrated solutions, and customer-focused flexibility. All this is made possible by ECI’s intelligent multilayer network management system, LightSoft. LightSoft provides a unified network view and enables end-to-end service provisioning across all technologies and protocols, including third party equipment.

These unique capabilities allow network operators to build next generation networks cost-effectively by reducing the number of network elements. Moreover, since fewer network elements are required for installation, management, maintenance, and troubleshooting, ECI's converged packet-optical solutions require less switching capacity and network interfaces, greatly simplifying network architecture and reducing capital as well as operational costs.