Australian operator Telstra has launched Ericsson’s Cloud RAN (radio access network) infrastructure on its 5G commercial network. The Ericsson Cloud RAN has already been deployed and is fully operational at multiple sites, including the Gold Coast in Queensland.
As part of this deployment, Telstra and Ericsson have migrated two carrier frequencies, 2600 MHz and 3600 MHz, to the Cloud RAN infrastructure, enabling the delivery of the capabilities and services of 5G. As a result, Telstra can leverage the scalability, increased flexibility, enhanced capacity, and faster service delivery that Ericsson’s Cloud RAN infrastructure offers.
According to Ericsson, virtualisation of crucial network segment represents the final step in achieving complete automation and orchestration capabilities for Telstra’s end-to-end network at scale. These cloud-native architectures will deliver the latest cloud and network [3GPP (third generation partnership project)] standards, setting the stage for future technologies like 6G.
Telstra and Ericsson will continue to implement and optimise these new network technology capabilities in this evolving RAN cloud-based architecture area. This will focus not just on the RAN software, frequencies and features, but also on deployment and operational practices.
The commercial deployment follows a technology trial conducted in December last year where Telstra and Ericsson announced the initial Ericsson Cloud RAN 5G data call on Telstra’s commercial network.
Telstra’s implementation of Ericsson’s Cloud RAN technology involves the virtualisation of the RAN baseband. This enables both the centralised unit (CU) and distributed unit (DU) functions of Telstra’s network to be decoupled from the base station site and be located at a central site, providing more utilisation of compute resources, which results in better capacity, resilience, and automation capabilities.
Telstra to utilise Ericsson’s Cloud Native Infrastructure Solution (CNIS) for Cloud RAN
With this deployment, Telstra will utilise Ericsson’s Cloud Native Infrastructure solution (CNIS) for Cloud RAN in a live commercial 5G network. CNIS is a bare metal infrastructure that is optimised for hosting cloud-native 5G applications both at central data centres and at the edge. With Ericsson’s Cloud RAN running on CNIS as a system-verified solution, the combination reduces Telstra’s deployment and operational risks.
With Ericsson’s Cloud RAN infrastructure hosting data traffic on Telstra’s 5G commercial network, Telstra’s customers can experience the capabilities of 5G, including low-latency and high-bandwidth performance for improved user experience.
The RAN virtualisation will allow for new network features and product/service introductions requiring latency, edge computing demands and security requirements.
Iskra Nikolova, Telstra executive for network and infrastructure, says: “This step in the validation and rollout of this technology is critical to ensure we get the most out of 5G now and in the future. It will allow us to roll out network capacity and new features faster while making our networks more intelligent, automated, flexible, reliable, and secure. This is particularly important when it comes to making sure that areas of high demand, particularly large events and seasonal hotspots can operate at the high standard our customers expect. Our ongoing partnership with Ericsson has once again supported Telstra’s efforts to deliver a world-leading 5G experience for the Australian public.”
Emilio Romeo, head of Ericsson, Australia and New Zealand, says: “The flexibility provided by Ericsson’s Cloud RAN technology delivers a more open network architecture for Telstra, one that is fully independent of hardware solutions and easily scalable to meet evolving customer demand for optimal service performance now and into the future. As Ericsson’s Cloud RAN infrastructure is rolled out to more sites around the country, Telstra’s 5G network is set to offer even more capacity, reliability and performance to its Australian customers.”
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