Nokia announced Monday that its Cloud Packet Core, a cloud-native converged core, supports an array of access technologies. Its cloud-native architecture supports converged broadband, Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine Type Communications (MTC) service delivery across wireless licensed, shared and unlicensed spectrum, as well as fixed access.
In a digital world, where everyone and everything is connected, the network is under significant new pressure. Broadband, IoT and MTC lead to a huge increase in devices and people that must be interconnected, introducing a range of service requirements and characteristics that operators will need to support, including any access technology.
In addition, the sheer number of devices places massive scalability demands on the network, and the applications supported have strict performance and reliability requirements. Operators must embrace this new environment while also ensuring the most flexible and efficient use of cloud resources to deliver this economically.
The flexible, multi-access packet core is built with web-scale and cloud technologies; and lets users seize new opportunities by supporting massive scalability and high performance for a range of services. With Cloud Packet Core, users can adopt an automated cloud networking and service operations model. This model provides dynamic lifecycle management capabilities, service agility, and operational efficiency. It helps meet service agreements by providing resources whenever and wherever they are needed.
Nokia Cloud Packet Core anchors an extensive range of standards-based wireless and fixed access technologies, and supports concurrent service delivery across multiple access technologies. The 3GPP R13 feature set and new CIoT Serving Gateway Node capabilities to support applications and services such as NB-IoT.
Its cloud-native architecture delivers greater flexibility in resource deployment and efficient utilization to drive better economics. The new pre-integrated and modular Cloud Packet Core solutions (Cloud Mobility Manager/Cloud Mobile Gateway) expand on existing Cloud NFV deployment capabilities for rapid deployment and operational integration, and to engage expanded markets.
The offering builds on cloud-native investment required for 4G and converged networks, facilitates a path to 5G, and has further innovations to deliver expanded service capabilities, scalability, agility and network functions.
Innovation in the network core is central to this transformation as it is the connection hub, and Nokia continues to invest in its Cloud Packet Core to support this new reality.
Nokia’s flexible, multi-access approach enables fixed and wireless technologies to be used, individually or together, to ensure the delivery of converged services anchored in a common core for a seamless service experience. These technologies include licensed spectrum such as 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G, as well as shared and unlicensed spectrum, including Wi-Fi, MulteFire and LTE-based CBRS, and fixed access.
Moving beyond simple virtualization of existing platforms, Nokia has architected its Cloud Packet Core from the ground up using cloud-native architecture concepts including software disaggregation, functional software elements with ‘state-efficient’ processing combined with a common data layer, network slicing, along with centralized and distributed deployment to achieve massive scalability, performance, flexibility and reliability.
Nokia’s Cloud Packet Core also includes a 3GPP R13 Cellular IoT (CIoT) feature set and new capabilities, such as the CIoT Serving Gateway Node, to support new service and application requirements, including narrowband IoT (NB-IoT).
The Cloud Packet Core will create significant broadband business opportunities and support diverse applications for multiple segments and verticals, including consumer mobile, residential, enterprises and governments.
