SK Telecom and Ericsson tout first SD telecom infrastructure demo targeting 5G network slicing, while Ericsson mobile 5G test hits 7 Gbps speeds in transit
SK Telecom and Ericsson claimed to have demonstrated the first software-defined telecommunications infrastructure based on Hyperscale Datacenter System 8000 at SK Telecom’s “5G Playground” innovation center in Budang, South Korea.
The firms describe SDTI as an infrastructure platform where “all mobile network infrastructure components, such as CPU, memory and storage, are disaggregated as customizable modules that can be flexibly and dynamically recomposed together to provide the optimal level of infrastructure scale for various 5G services based on their requirements.” The concept is based on infrastructure slicing in supporting dynamic composition and lifecycle management at the physical hardware layer, and “enhances efficiency in network infrastructure upgrades as the disaggregated module of the server can be separately upgraded.”
SDTI is seen as key for end-to-end 5G network slicing, which is described as a virtualized and logically separated network optimized for a specific user or service “consisting of network slices of different domains in the mobile network including radio access network, IP transport network, core network and physical infrastructure.”
SK Telecom and Ericsson last year demonstrated network slicing at the same research center in South Korea.
“Through the demonstration of SDTI … the companies showed that network slicing concept may as well be applied at the physical infrastructure domain to best support their slicing counterparts in the virtualized network functions and network domain, thus completing the missing puzzle piece in the end-to-end network slicing technology,” the companies noted in a statement.
SK Telecom and Ericsson said by the end of this year they plan to jointly build an end-to-end pilot system using SDTI with “5G” equipment to test the technical and performance characteristics.
In mobile 5G test, Ericsson hits 7 Gbps
Continuing to test both fixed and mobile 5G technology, Ericsson today said it achieved a data throughput rate of 7 gigabits per second between its radio access network and a prototype device in a moving van. Ericsson described the test as important to developing in-vehicle services, a step the company said is critical to 5G use cases including autonomous driving.
“Our latest 5G technology breakthrough will enable operators to field trial key 5G applications requiring high performance connectivity to cars, buses and trains for smart vehicle and intelligent transport,” said Joakim Sorelius, head of 5G Architecture at Ericsson.
The test took place on June 10 near Ericsson’s headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden.
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