Network Function Virtualization (NFV)

The demo featured a commercial end-to-end Open Fronthaul interface based on O-RAN specifications In October, the O-RAN Alliance conducted its second Global O-RAN Alliance plugfest, an event that boasts the goal of testing and demonstrating “the growing maturity of the …

Japanese operator Rakuten Mobile, a unit of e-commerce giant Rakuten, expects its 4G network to cover 96% of the population in Japan by summer 2021, the company said in a statement. The operator said that the base station development rate …

  A Recap – the Ubiquitous Edge Platform This is the second of two blog posts that explore the concept of a ubiquitous multi-access edge computing (MEC) platform that universally addresses edge computing needs, from customer premises to regional telco …

  Intel has signed a partnership with U.S. operator Dish Nework to supply virtualized RAN (vRAN) equipment for a standalone 5G deployment, the chipmaker said in a release. As part of the deal, Intel’s 5G infrastructure technology will create the …

  Japanese operator Rakuten Mobile has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Saudi Telecom Company (STC) with the aim of collaborating in the field of innovation and strategic mobile technology. Under the terms of the deal, the two companies …

  New Japanese market entrant Rakuten Mobile, which is a subsidiary of e-commerce giant Rakuten, is seeing a high level of interest by multiple governments around the world for the adoption of the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP), said Tareq Amin, …

  Japanese operator Rakuten Mobile, a unit of e-commerce giant Rakuten, has announced the availability of its commercial 5G service in certain areas across six prefectures of the country. The service, initially offered via Non-Stand Alone (NSA) 5G architecture, is …

  Tech and business services company Tech Mahindra and Japanese mobile operator Rakuten Mobile have reached an agreement in which the former has been appointed as a preferred partner for global go-to-market opportunities for the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP). Under …

  Korean carrier SK Telecom and compatriot company Samsung Electronics announced that they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Intel for cooperation in the commercialization of an evolved 5G network functions virtualization platform. Under …

5G Telco Cloud Platform follows VMware/Intel partnership on RAN virtualization Operators have for years invested in virtualization of network functions, starting with the evolved packet core and now moving out to the radio access network. Most current 5G deployments are …

  New Japanese market entrant Rakuten Mobile, a subsidiary of e-commerce giant Rakuten, expects to cover all the country’s population with its mobile service in 2021. During an earnings call, Chairman and CEO Mickey Mikitani said that the company previously …

In previous blogs in this “Who Disaggregated My RAN? series, we have looked at the benefits of a disaggregated Open RAN, including the growth of an ecosystem to support the deployment of an Open RAN. We have also looked at …

Telecommunication networks are becoming more and more essential every day and, in the process, gaining new opportunities. These opportunities will drive new business growth and create exciting areas for revenue generation. However, as with all opportunities, challenges exist and for …

5G transformation extends beyond the network–there has to be a shift in the workforce 5G is touted as the connectivity fabric that will fundamentally reshape our collective future. Consumers will benefit from ubiquitous, high-quality connectivity capable of serving up applications …

Service providers are launching new services faster than ever before and upgrading networks to fit the new 5G ecosystem. As they streamline offerings and build out advanced use cases, they’re getting help from an unexpected source: network function virtualization (NFV). …

  Japanese telco Rakuten Mobile is collaborating with Singaporean carrier TPG Telecom on a 5G technology partnership program to trial OpenRAN solutions in Singapore, the former said in a release. Rakuten Mobile had launched what it claimed to be the …

  ADLINK helps enterprises unlock IoT value with time and cost efficiencies Right now sorting boxes onto the appropriate pallet as these goods move through a supply chain is a time-consuming, error-prone manual process. But it doesn’t have to be. …

The evolution to 5G will see an unprecedented increase in network complexity – from new uses cases to different service classes, network function virtualization and large volumes of data. Today’s complex networks are designed to being operated by humans and …

Mavenir announces availability of 4G/5G open RAN solution This week Richardson, Texas-based vendor Mavenir announced the “launch and availability” of a 4G- and 5G-compatible virtualized radio access network solution based on open interfaces developed by the O-RAN Alliance, a cross-industry …

Report: Carriers will follow traditional DAS approach to large venues; open RAN a big opportunity for enterprise connectivity This is by no means new information but worth repeating: Carriers almost exclusively invest in in-building wireless systems for large venues like …

Network slicing. Major reductions in capex and opex. A better customer experience. These are all goals of NFV and SDN innovation but progress is slow and the need increasingly pressing. Here we explore how operators cloudify their networks—while maintaining quality …

MobiledgeX early access program coming to the US in October Deutsche Telekom-backed edge computing company MobiledgeX says it has 13 network operator customers and is expanding its early access program into Asia this month, with North America to follow in …

How does edge computing fit into a broader telco cloud strategy? The telco cloud conversation has been ongoing for some time as communications service providers look to build networks that provide the agility and dynamic service delivery generally associated with …

The traditional, IP-centric way of building networks is simply unsustainable: The ever-increasing inefficiency of continually adding more IPs makes network operations overly complex and unmanageable. The new IP network must be open, programmable, disaggregated, and virtualized in a way that …

IBM discusses how cloud and telecommunications, along with AI, are converging Early 5G deployments are limited in coverage scope and capacity but, as operators fine tune their spectrum allocation, scale service offerings and the technology continues to mature, expect much …