Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday confirmed a new program that will allow communications service providers to provide managed network solutions under a pay-per-use pricing scheme.

The new HP FlexNetwork Utility Advantage Program enables CSP partners to sell pre-packaged networking, including hardware and software, for no upfront capital investment on the part of the customer.

How it works is that customers contract with the CSP for the specific managed network offerings they need from HP's portfolio, and HP takes a cut of what that CSP is paid. The CSP bills the customer based on activated ports in use with the networking equipment.

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Swisscom is the first service provider in the program, and an HP spokesperson told CRN the company is in "active discussions" with a number of tier-one service providers in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and Asia, Pacific and Japan (APJ) markets. HP will own the equipment the customer uses, but the CSP will own the relationship and the managed network terms as part of a service-level agreement.

The Utility Advantage Program supports the full breadth of HP Networking technologies. One particularly strong use case, according to HP, is a unified wired and wireless LAN deployment delivered to and managed for customers on a usage-based payment structure.

Bethany Mayer, senior vice president and general manager of HP Networking, said that adoption of cloud services has pushed more customers toward a "consumption-based economic" model for using network technology.

"HP FlexNetwork Utility Advantage Program brings these economic benefits to CSPs as they support their clients to pursue initiatives that drive growth and innovation," Mayer said in a statement.

PUBLISHED DEC. 12, 2012