Juniper Launches Metro-as-a-Service Offering as MaaS Market Gains Momentum
The MaaS launch comes as Juniper continues to make inroads in the metro market, with its latest push into cloud-ready metro networking.
(Photo: SBR)
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sept. 24, 2025 — Juniper Networks has launched its Metro-as-a-Service (MaaS) solution designed to provide carrier services for metro operators looking to handle more demanding workloads.
Developed alongside Iometrix atop carrier Ethernet standards from Mplify (formerly MEF), the offering provides metro-based operators with blueprints for building MEF 3.0-qualified network architectures, as per a press release.
The Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)-owned firm said the as-a-service offering “enables the coexistence of legacy services with modern cloud and AI era use cases, within a unified metro architecture.”
Both metro and long-haul networks are underprepared for the impact of AI workloads, according to a recent study from Ciena, with just 16 per cent of surveyed operators admitting their optical networks were “very ready” for AI.
Juniper contends its MaaS offering will help operators meet the demands of distributed AI-driven applications and workloads across the edge.
“The solution reflects our ongoing innovation in metro networking while building on the capabilities of our latest-generation ACX and MX platforms,” the company said in a statement. “With the design fully validated, operators can begin realizing the operational benefits of MaaS immediately.”
Featuring a controller-agnostic, scale-out metro fabric, the offering supports both legacy and modern services as well as use cases such as edge AI inferencing and enterprise virtual private networks (VPNs).
Juniper tested the solution with Iometrix across more than 12,000 service test cases to ensure the offering “aligns with real-world service delivery models.”
The MaaS launch comes as Juniper continues to make inroads in the metro market.
In 2021, its executives outlined the need for a Cloud Metro to interface with physical and virtual network functions to better distribute services. A year later, the vendor would launch such an offering: providing specially optimized metro infrastructure, with packaged tools to help service providers ease deployments.
Know More About MaaS Projection
Urban Transport Solutions: A study from Juniper Research has revealed that Mobility‑as‑a‑Service will generate revenue of $92 billion globally by 2027, up from $20 billion in 2022.
Growing by 357 percent over the period, the main drivers will be the cost and convenience of MaaS solutions and the increased investment into MaaS infrastructure.
MaaS platforms provide consumer urban transport solutions, such as bus, metro and ride hailing, all integrated into a single platform and enables users to organise a multi-modal journey through one billing relationship.
Subscription Model to Boost Revenue: The report predicts that, by 2027, 65 per cent of global MaaS revenue will be generated through subscriptions, for a flat monthly fee, users gain access to a variety of transport services, providing a more cost-effective and convenient transit proposition. However, the report anticipates that the current use of an ad hoc charging model will continue to be crucial in fostering consumer trust and enabling potential users to trial MaaS journeys for a one-off fee. Ad hoc models enable users to pay for a single journey, rather than committing to an ongoing subscription.
Research Author Cara Malone said, “The ability to pay for a single journey in an app, despite leveraging multiple modes of transport, will create substantial cost savings for users, in comparison to individual transit services. MaaS platforms must promote these savings to attract users away from established transport services and towards subscription plans for MaaS services.”
Driven by Increasing Urban Population: As urban populations increase over the next five years, transit planning authorities must consider the potential of a MaaS solution to ease congestion and reduce pollution from private vehicles. The report urges transit planning authorities to take a holistic approach to urban mobility by integrating MaaS into the wider smart city ecosystem to leverage real-time data from smart city sensors and maximise reductions in congestion and pollution.
How Significant is HPE’s Takeover of Juniper?
In June this year, HPE announced the successful completion of its previously announced acquisition of Juniper Networks, Inc., a leader in AI-native networks. The combination positions HPE to capture the growing AI and hybrid cloud market opportunity by creating an industry-leading cloud-native and AI-driven IT portfolio, including a full, modern networking stack.
The transaction doubles the size of HPE’s networking business and provides customers with a comprehensive portfolio of networking solutions. It also accelerates the company’s portfolio mix shift to higher-margin, higher-growth areas and positions the company for long-term profitable revenue growth.
The as-a-service offering enables legacy services to coexist with modern cloud- and AI-era use cases within a unified metro architecture.
Inputs from Saqib malik
Editing by David Ryder
