LITTLE ROCK, Ark., June 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Windstream (NASDAQ:WIN), a leading provider of advanced network communications, announced today that it has joined the Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP) Project, underscoring the company’s commitment to collaborating with peers in the open source world and supporting breakthroughs and innovation within the communications industry, as well as helping to set the stage for building uniform standards for software defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) technologies.

As Windstream continues to demonstrate leadership in the SDN realm – including its recent Software Defined Network Orchestrated Waves (SDNow) announcement – the company will be able to leverage ONAP resources to maximize the technology standardization and adoption required in a complex, multi-vendor environment. Pioneering such industry standards offers Windstream the opportunity to constantly evolve and enhance its solution portfolios across all customer segments - including residential, small to medium business, enterprise and wholesale – as well as further development of added benefits such as automation and acceleration for both service ordering and installation.

“Partnering with ONAP brings about groundbreaking collaborative possibilities for Windstream as we work with other organization members and the Linux Foundation to share best-in-class technologies and resources,” said Mark Wyman, senior vice president of application development for Windstream. “This initiative is spurring necessary transformation from traditional telecom networks, as we embrace an open source approach and lay the foundation to morph into software-centric networks.”

Recently formed through the merger of open source ECOMP and Open Orchestrator Project (OPEN-O), two of the largest open source networking initiatives, the ONAP Project is focused on creating a harmonized and comprehensive framework for real-time, policy-driven software automation of virtual network functions. The ONAP Project, which includes participation by prominent networking suppliers and industry-leading service providers from around the world, enables software, network, IT, and cloud providers and developers to rapidly create new services.

“Combined with our rapid advances in SDN, Windstream’s participation in ONAP increases the value of our network for all of our customers, as we move to virtualization and cloud-based technologies that offer affordable and efficient next-generation services,” said Art Nichols, vice president of network architecture and technology for Windstream. “For example, not only does our SDNow solution offer automation and accelerated service delivery, but it forges the path that will allow us to deliver flexible, on-demand services across our multi-vendor network ecosystem.”

About ONAP
The Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP) Project brings together top global carriers and vendors with the goal of allowing end users to automate, design, orchestrate and manage services and virtual functions. ONAP unites two major open networking and orchestration projects, open source ECOMP and the Open Orchestrator Project (OPEN-O), with the mission of creating a unified architecture and implementation and supporting collaboration across the open source community. The ONAP Project is a Linux Foundation project. For more information, visit https://www.onap.org.

About Windstream
Windstream Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:WIN), a FORTUNE 500 company, is a leading provider of advanced network communications and technology solutions for consumers, small businesses, enterprise organizations and carrier partners across the U.S. Windstream offers bundled services, including broadband, security solutions, voice and digital TV to consumers. The company also provides data, cloud solutions, unified communications and managed services to business and enterprise clients. The company supplies core transport solutions on a local and long-haul fiber-optic network spanning approximately 147,000 miles. Additional information is available at windstream.com. Please visit our newsroom at news.windstream.com or follow us on Twitter at @Windstream.

Windstream Media Contact
Jeff Brown
jeff.brown@windstream.com
214.907.3241