Overture, the preferred Carrier Ethernet edge and aggregation partner for service providers and network operators worldwide, today announced it has achieved MEF Carrier Ethernet 2.0 certification for three of its products, the Overture 1400, 4800 and 4000. The MEF formally announced the certifications during a special session at the MEF Carrier Ethernet Americas Summit held yesterday in San Diego, California. Overture was one of twenty companies recognized by the MEF as being the first to offer CE 2.0 certified products and is unique in that it offers CE 2.0 certified solutions over three access technologies – optical fiber, bonded copper, and TDM.

“This is an important milestone for Overture as many of our customers will be the first to create MEF CE 2.0 certified services underpinned by our solutions,” said Mike Aquino, president and CEO, Overture. “From our people to our products, we fully embrace the MEF certification process. Open standards help to create an environment where our customers can more easily create, activate, and assure services in a multi-vendor environment. Today’s announcement is further demonstration of that commitment and follows last week’s news announcing MEF CE Professional Certification for 100 percent of our Technical Assistance Center.”

“The achievement of the CE 2.0 equipment vendor certification is a testament to their commitment to outstanding service delivery to the Carrier market,” said Ihab Tarazi chairman of the board, MEF, vice president of Global Planning and Technology, Verizon. “MEF CE 2.0 standards will enable carriers to choose equipment vendors with greater speed, clarity and certainty.”

Carrier Ethernet has become the industry’s biggest success story of the past decade. This year, for the first time, CE services bandwidth exceeded the sum total of all legacy telecoms services across the world, making it the dominant technology in the carrier space, according to Vertical Systems Group.

About the MEF

The MEF is a global industry alliance comprising more than 200 organizations including telecommunications service providers, cable MSOs, network equipment/software manufacturers, semiconductors vendors and testing organizations. The MEF’s mission is to accelerate the worldwide adoption of Carrier-class Ethernet networks and services. The MEF develops Carrier Ethernet technical specifications and implementation agreements to promote interoperability and deployment of Carrier Ethernet worldwide. For more information about the Forum, including a complete listing of all current MEF members, please visit the MEF web site at http://www.MetroEthernetForum.org.

About Overture Networks

Overture is the preferred Carrier Ethernet edge and aggregation partner to hundreds of service providers and network operators worldwide. By providing an entrance to a smarter network, service providers can leverage Carrier Ethernet to multiply revenue and streamline operational costs by enabling high-capacity Ethernet services over any physical media, including fiber, copper and TDM. Overture’s solutions are designed for reliability and ease of use, and arm customers to compete in demanding applications such as cloud computing and mobile communications that require greater bandwidth and smarter networks. Overture is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC, with offices around the globe. For more information, visit http://www.overturenetworks.com.