In a pioneering move, Finnish telecom giant Nokia has joined forces with Austrian telecom operator A1 and tech behemoth Microsoft to successfully conduct a trial of 5G Edge cloud network slicing. This innovative trial, hailed as an industry first, was carried out on A1’s live commercial network in the vibrant city of Vienna, Austria. Nokia’s cutting-edge 5G Edge slicing solution and Microsoft Azure managed Edge compute played pivotal roles in the successful deployment.
During the trial, which showcased the prowess of this groundbreaking technology, América Móvil-owned A1 demonstrated real-time HD video streaming. This was achieved by transmitting live camera feeds from multiple mobile devices using the Multicasting.io’s streaming mobile platform, seamlessly integrated with the Azure Edge infrastructure.
Nokia emphasized that the 5G Edge cloud network slicing solution holds immense potential for a wide array of enterprise industries, including retail, media, utilities, healthcare, and transportation. Network slicing allows telecom operators to create distinct and isolated networks tailored for various use cases, each with its own unique configuration.
Explaining the benefits of its 5G Edge slicing solution, Nokia highlighted how it empowered A1 to segregate its public Internet and enterprise traffic while ensuring that critical business traffic remained local. This was achieved through the use of 4G/5G core breakout for enterprise Edge cloud applications, ensuring optimal performance and security.
Supporting this groundbreaking trial, Azure managed Edge compute was deployed at A1’s data center in Vienna, with seamless connectivity to the Azure region in Austria. Marcus Grausam, CEO of A1, expressed enthusiasm for the innovative solution, emphasizing its ability to deliver secure, reliable, and high-performance enterprise VPN services integrated with edge cloud applications over their 4G/LTE and 5G networks. Grausam also noted that this collaboration opens up new business opportunities and underscores A1’s commitment to delivering innovative services for its enterprise customers, thereby realizing the full potential of 5G technology.
Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing how 5G cloud Edge will unlock further 5G monetization opportunities while enhancing the overall enterprise customer experience. The successful trial marks a significant milestone in the journey towards realizing the full potential of 5G technology, heralding a new era of connectivity and innovation.
(Source: Data Center Dynamics | 5G Americas | Mobile World Live)
