SK Telecom and Ericssonhave signed an agreement to collaborate on research and development of 5G standalone core network technology and architecture.
The three year agreement focuses on potential enhancements and optimization enabled by cloud native micro-services based design principles.
It is designed to help meet the need for more agile and programmable 5G standalone core network architecture capable of efficiently managing growth through automation and more simplified operations.
“After the successful launch of [a] 5G [non-standalone] network, SK Telecom is preparing to migrate towards 5G [standalone] networks to provide the latest and greatest technology and services to its customers,” SK Telecom SVP and head of 5GX Labs Jong-kwan Park said.
“This joint collaboration with Ericsson on the next generation 5G Standalone Core and cloud native principles will not only enable us to introduce new services faster while at the same time improve our operational efficiency but also support higher availability through simplified operation.”
Ericsson head of packet core Peo Lehto added that cloud native micro-services architecture promises to deliver higher degrees of automation and availability, more predictable performance and more robust operations for next-generation mobile networks.
“This will relieve requirements on the infrastructure by allowing better handling of multiple failures, better infrastructure utilization with more flexible and granular scaling, as well as increased rate of innovation with independent lifecycles and in-service software upgrade for each service,” he said.