CenturyLink buys Active Broadband Networks SDN/NFV assets

CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) says it has purchased "certain strategic assets" from Active Broadband Networks (ABN). As this is the second piece of its business ABN has sold this month, and the service provider referred to ABN as "the company formerly known as Active Broadband Networks," it appears the startup devoted to bringing software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) to broadband access infrastructures is in the process of breaking up.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. CenturyLink says it purchased ABN's edge platform assets, designed to enable service providers to deliver cloud-based services. The company said its purchase would help automate its network, move network functions into the cloud, and deliver SDN and NFV services.

"This acquisition provides us with people and technology resources that will help us continue to develop and implement our platform strategy and integrate SDN and NFV technology into our network," said Aamir Hussain, CenturyLink's executive vice president and CTO. "Moving services into the cloud, particularly at the network edge, is essential as we continue to focus on providing our customers with a wide variety of virtualized network functions that help them more effectively manage their business."

The sale announcement comes a few weeks after Volaris Group revealed it had purchased ABN's operations support systems (OSS) business, which Volaris said would become a business unit within its Incognito Software Systems operations.

ABN, based in Framingham, MA, unveiled an SDN-based fiber to the home (FTTH) broadband network gateway in 2014 with an endorsement from Columbus Communications (see "Active Broadband Networks offers SDN gateway for FTTH"). Volaris said ABN had customers in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. However, it appears these customers weren't sufficient to prevent ABN from selling off assets.

Adam Dunstan, co-founder, president, and CEO of ABN, now lists himself as "manager" at CenturyLink on his LinkedIn profile.

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