Tapping NFV to support 5G
SK Telecom reported a deal with Ericsson-LG to collaborate on development to verify cloud orchestration technology in the carrier’s continued move toward developing support systems for so-called “5G” technology.
The memorandum of understanding calls for the two companies to evolve Ericsson’s Cloud Orchestration platform, which is a network function virtualization-based cloud solution designed to allow central detection, control, operation and optimization of separately running applications and hardware infrastructure.
“Orchestration of integrated network services is a key for the next-generation 5G network,” explained Park Jin-hyo, head of SK Telecom’s Network Technology R&D Center. “It is an essential technology to maximize efficiency and automation of increasingly advanced and complex network, and revitalize a 5G network service ecosystem based on a user-centric, open network.”
Ericsson and LG formed their joint venture in 2010, which came from Ericsson inheriting its stake following its acquisition of assets from Nortel Networks in 2010. The original LG-Nortel JV was established in 2005. Ericsson in 2012 increased its stake in the JV to 75%.
SK Telecom earlier this year signed an agreement with Ericsson to conduct joint research on “5G-related technologies” geared toward demonstrating 5G services during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games scheduled to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. As part of the agreement, the two companies cited what they termed “essential” technologies for the move to 5G services, including “next-generation small cell, ultra-wideband,” low latency technology of one millisecond geared toward remote driving, FDD/TDD convergence technology and gigabyte-level data transmission technology.
The two companies have been working together on SK Telecom’s deployment of LTE-Advanced services, including the carrier’s push into carrier aggregation. The firms were also part of a joint agreement earlier this year with the European Commission and South Korea on plans to work toward a common 5G definition.
Ericsson-LG signed a similar deal in July with South Korean operator KT to develop network technology using NFV to virtualize aspects of an evolved packet core.
Ericsson has increasingly turned its attention to the telecom software space, with a recent Maravedis-Rethink report predicting that recent advancements in network virtualization has wireless carriers looking at ways to cut hardware spending and is forcing equipment vendors to become more proactive in tackling the software space. Ericsson earlier this year announced a restructuring that will see one group concentrate on radio technologies while the other will focus on IP and cloud initiatives. Johan Wibergh, head of Ericsson’s networks business unit and tasked with overseeing both of the new divisions, told RCR Wireless News that continued focus on the company’s radio access networks business remains the company’s top priority.
“Ericsson, the most threatened by the shift of spending from hardware to software, has also been the most proactive,” explained Maravedis-Rethink Research Director Caroline Gabriel. “It may still have its head in the sand about small cells, but it has placed itself in the vanguard of SDN, determined to shape that trend, not be consumed by it.”
Recent reports have predicted explosive growth for the SDN and NFV market, with Infonetics Research forecasting $5 billion in sales by 2020. IDC noted in a separate report that the move toward SDN and NFV is set to “revolutionize” the telecom space, despite some potential challenges.
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