One of the world’s most advanced operators in deploying new network architectures is Japan’s NTT Docomo, and the company is boasting of its early stage gains from using commodity servers as it moves towards fully virtualized networks. Although this transition is far from complete, Docomo says it has already achieved 10% reduction in relevant capex. Hiroyuki Oto, general manager of the MNO’s core network development department, said the commodity hardware had resulted in capex savings despite some additional costs associated with management and network orchestration. Oto said 12 types of network function have now been virtualized, including the EPC (evolved packet core) and IMS (Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem). However, most of Docomo’s commercial services are still supported by conventional EPC…