Apparatus and methods for intelligent deployment and transition from a first network infrastructure to a second network infrastructure. Various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to, among other things, methods and apparatus that leverage tunneling of Ethernet ring network technologies. In one exemplary embodiment, a modified implementation of the ITU-T G.8032 data link protocol is combined with Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) transport networks to provide Carrier Ethernet and Retail Ethernet services. Unlike existing network infrastructure, the exemplary MPLS network aggregates traffic between the base station (BS) and mobile switching center (MSC) within a logical ring network topology.
