Alcatel-Lucent said it has created a cloud[]-computing platform for operators that, among other things, allows operators to deliver service-level agreements around priority and quality of service.

Operators can use the platform, called CloudBand, to run their internal software and offer cloud computing services to enterprises. While operators already can leverage cloud data centers in their networks, Alca-Lu said the CloudBand platform is capable of examining a range of conditions and user requirements to obtain the best settings for a given application at a certain time.

For enterprises, Alca-Lu said it can sell cloud computing with guaranteed availability and response times and offer features such as high priority for network bandwidth.

Alca-Lu said its CloudBand Management System is based on algorithms developed by Bell Labs and leverages factors such as server load, network congestion and latency to ensure service-level agreements. Another component of CloudBand is the CloudBand Node, which includes computing, storage, virtualization[] and cloud management components at each cloud facility on the network.

Alca-Lu said it plans to work with Hewlett-Packard to build equipment optimized for use with CloudBand. Leveraging the same cloud it builds for subscriber services, operators can use the infrastructure for offering standard services such and voice and video without the need of the traditional dedicated hardware.

Alcatel plans to make CloudBand generally available to carriers in the first half of next year.