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What is a Virtual Network Function?

A Virtual Network Function replaces network hardware with software which can be changed and scaled to meet burgeoning 5G demands.

What is a small cell, really?

Analog Devices: 'There have been a lot of different uses of the term small cell' Despite the current emphasis on small cells operating in higher 5G frequencies, this infrastructure is not actually limited, or defined, by frequency. In fact, 4G small cells operate in sub-3...

Samsung will deploy 5G vRAN in KDDI’s mid-band network

Among other capabilities, virtualized networks will enable 5G network slicing Samsung is deploying its cloud-native, fully virtualized Radio Access Network (vRAN) solutions for mid-band spectrum in KDDI’s 5G network, following the successful completion of a 5G Standalone (SA) call using Samsung’s vRAN and another vendor’s...

TPG Telecom selects Ericsson for 5G standalone core

Australian operator TPG Telecom has extended its partnership with Ericsson to include the deployment of its 5G core for a Standalone (SA) network. TPG Telecom explained that Ericsson will deploy its cloud-native, dual-mode 5G core with the aim of covering cover 85% of the population...

What is 5G network slicing and what does it mean for enterprise 5G adoption?

Ericsson: 'Network slicing is the operators’ best answer on how to build and manage a network that meets and exceeds the emerging requirements from a wide range of users' 5G network slicing is a feature of a cloud-native 5G network architecture that leverages the principles...

Germany fourth’s mobile network will be Open RAN-based, built by Rakuten

German operator 1&1 AG and Japanese company Rakuten Group announced they are entering into a long-term partnership to build the former’s mobile network, which will become the fourth mobile network in Germany. Together with Rakuten, 1&1 will build what it claims to be Europe's first...

Verizon and Samsung complete fully virtualized 5G data session on C Band spectrum

Verizon added an average of 161 MHz of C Band spectrum nationwide to its portfolio, more than doubling its existing mid-band spectrum Using its recently acquired C Band spectrum, Verizon teamed up with Samsung Electronics on an end-to-end fully virtualized 5G data session in a...

Intel partners with Airtel to accelerate 5G development in India

Intel and Indian telecommunications operator Bharti Airtel announced a collaboration to drive network development of 4G and 5G virtualized radio access network (vRAN) and open radio access network (RAN) technology. Work by Intel and Airtel will evolve communications networks from fixed-function equipment to virtualized cloud-native...

Orange tests cloud-native 5G standalone network in France

Orange will begin deployment of the 5G standalone network in the town of Lannion, with expansion expected in 2022 Orange is launching a test Standalone (SA) 5G network in France to evaluate the benefits of cloud, AI and new radio technologies on its operation and...

The rise (and rise) of the intelligent RAN

By all accounts, 5G is off to a great start in 2021. Adoption has accelerated four times faster than previous LTE technology, resulting in 229 million 5G subscriptions worldwide as of December 2020. Yet even as users embrace the promise of 5G, the increasing...

Network-as-a-Service explained

Network-as-a-Service can deliver network agility and flexibility for enterprise customers Today, we work and live in an increasingly digital world, which not only gives individuals and businesses the agility and flexibility to create, share and store information virtually but also allows them to access...

Rakuten Mobile’s 4G network reaches 80% of Japan’s population

Japanese mobile operator Rakuten Mobile said its 4G network already reaches 80% of the country’s population, with plans to reach 96% this summer. In a conference call with investors, Rakuten Mobile’s President Yoshihisa Yamada said that the company has already reached limited 5G services in...

VMware paves the way for virtualized RAN with new platform

VMware has announced the launch of its VMware Telco Cloud Platform RAN, a platform that enables Communication service providers (CSPs) to virtualize radio access network (RAN) functions and implement an open RAN architecture. “A modern, open, and disaggregated RAN offers CSPs the single best opportunity...

Rakuten Mobile attracts over 3.9 million applications for its mobile offering

Japanese carrier Rakuten Mobile said it attracted over 3.9 million applications for its mobile service since it launched its 4G offering one year ago. The telco launched a new promotional campaign to attract more subscribers. This campaign offers the Rakuten UN-LIMIT VI service plan to...

Bandwidth Guarantees for Telecom Services using SR-IOV and Containers

With the emergence of Container-native Virtualization (CNV) or the ability to run and manage virtual machines alongside container workloads, Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) takes on an important role in the Communications Industry. Most telecom services require guarantees of capacity e.g. number of simultaneous...

Well, technically… 5G has to be agile, secure, affordable and resilient: Rakuten Mobile’s Azita Arvani (Ep. 36)

Rakuten Mobile Americas' General Manager Azita Arvani addresses the company's decision to sell its end-to-end, cloud-native and fully virtualized mobile network architecture as a solution to other operators, as opposed to keeping it all to itself. 

Dell Technologies White Paper: Building the 5G RAN: Virtualization and openness accelerate deployment and time to revenue

5G, along with companion technologies like mobile edge computing, data analytics, and artificial intelligence, is viewed as foundational to digital transformation of enterprises in virtually all high-value verticals. But to live up to that vision, operators will have to spend billions of capital dollars...

AdaptiveMobile Security finds ‘fundamental vulnerability’ in 5G network slicing architecture

Network slicing is not widely deployed; AdaptiveMobile Security working with GSMA on a fix Network slicing is among the North Stars of current 5G efforts as the ability to virtually partition a network out from the core to the radio access network is seen as...

A Big Technology Boost is Coming to Telecom

When consumers think of communications innovation, they tend to think of apps (Uber, Netflix) or smartphone vendors (Apple, Google). Few realize how much complex technology is behind the telecommunications networks that ensure those apps and phones work as advertised. Communication service providers (CSPs), for...

Editorial Report: 5G transformation: As technology matures, operators have to adapt

In its early days, 5G was, in many ways, not markedly different from advanced 4G in terms of networks and the services they delivered. However that’s changing quickly as operators move from non-standalone to standalone 5G and virtualize network functions on the way toward...

Bharti Airtel, Qualcomm partner to foster O-RAN 5G networks in India

Indian telecommunications operator Bharti Airtel and Qualcomm Technologies announced a collaboration for accelerating 5G development in India. Recently, Airtel became India’s first telco to demonstrate 5G over a live commercial network in the city of Hyderabad.  Through Airtel’s network vendors and device partners, Airtel will utilize...

Dish inks seven new tower deals to boost its nationwide 5G effort

Dish has signed seven new tower deals to boost its nationwide 5G network infrastructure, the operator said in a release. Dish, which is in the process of constructing a cloud-native, Open RAN-based 5G wireless network, secured new tower agreements with Harmoni Towers, Mobilite, Parallel Infrastructure,...

It’s time to open up your RAN

Dell Technologies and three partners have joined forces to empower Communication Service Providers with a solid reference architecture that accelerates open vRAN deployments. Dell Technologies and partners Red Hat, Altiostar, and NEC and Netcracker have joined forces to accelerate open vRAN deployments Technology is always evolving,...

Well, technically… software is truly more vital than ever: Intel’s Jeni Panhorst (Ep. 21)

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Intel's Open source software project DPDK. To celebrate the occasion, the company's Vice President and General Manager of Network and Edge Platforms Jeni Panhorst explains the vital role that software will play in next-generation networks and highlights the innovation that Intel's network business has driven over the years.