The Race is On: Is Your Network 5G Ready?

The growing 5G momentum promises tremendous commercial opportunities for service providers, with estimates that the global 5G market will be worth US$12.3 trillion by 2035. To pursue these new untapped opportunities, service providers need to ramp up their network capabilities to support future 5G services.

As we move closer towards mainstream 5G adoption, mobile networks are increasingly expected to handle more data-intensive applications and deliver low-latency connectivity to more devices. How can service providers keep pace and get a leg up on the competition?

In our view, a network architectural transformation is fundamental for service providers to make the next leap forward:

• Across the industry, 5G standards are being developed to address the need for greater capacity and scalability. As 5G standards are being defined, service providers need to establish a 5G network architecture to support the demand for new services in the fastest and most agile way possible.
• Flexibility in the mobile network is key to providing access to new technologies and protocols in a manner that is simple and broad. Technologies such as Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) play a prominent role in the strategic blueprint for service providers, enabling the scalable network configuration demanded by 5G requirements.

These new approaches require service providers to rethink how their mobile networks are designed. By making 5G core flexibility a priority, service providers can achieve operational efficiencies and address current network limitations.

Cisco is already working with customers and partners across the mobile ecosystem to unlock the commercial potential of 5G mobile networks. Here’s a snapshot of the progress we have made.

Rewiring Connectivity with a 5G Game Plan

In the APAC region, mobile service providers are taking steps to upgrade legacy network infrastructure to meet market demands for mobile traffic capacity, and build readiness for future 5G services. Cisco’s network technologies enable them to establish a next-generation mobile core network platform—to meet scalability demands and unlock the dynamic provisioning capabilities realized through 5G networks.

Here, virtualization and network automation are the game changer. Leveraging the Cisco Virtual Topology System and Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO) enabled by Tail-f, we have helped mobile service providers to overcome previous obstacles, improving time-to-delivery by 70 percent.

To create a more flexible network fabric, several forward-looking mobile service providers are now adopting Segment Routing technology advocated by Cisco. This allows them to enable the provisioning of advanced network services, such as low-latency—and differentiate its service delivery in the 5G era.

Empowering Digital Lifestyles Today

At Cisco, we believe service providers have a pivotal role to play in driving nationwide initiatives such as Digital India. Reliance Jio is leading the charge to realize the Digital India vision for 1.2 billion Indians, and create a broad ecosystem of network, devices and applications to transform digital services on a national scale.

Jio partnered with Cisco to build a first-of-its-kind, 5G-ready network to deliver inclusive, affordable broadband to transform how people leverage technology in their daily lives.

As the world’s largest all-IP network, Jio enables the massification of infrastructure services such as broadband connectivity, mobile video, and high-quality communications at 5G scale. Jio’s network also forms the foundation on which future solutions for smart city, IoT and other vertical services are developed.

Taking Advantage of the 5G Momentum

Many service providers have already made the first step towards a future-ready network, and these success stories point the way towards the new possibilities that 5G brings.

I foresee exciting times ahead for the whole industry, and am confident that Cisco is best placed to help you make the most of opportunities in a hyper-connected world—with solutions that are simple, scalable and flexible.

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