Tuesday, February 27, 2024

#MWC24: AI is Fundamental to Operations

What role is AI playing in the transformation of the world’s leading carrier networks? Jean-Christophe Laneri, VP and Head of Cognitive Network Solutions from Ericsson, explains:

- How AI helps manage urgent network issues and supports strategic transformation, ensuring customers have the best networks in their respective markets.

- The role of AI in bringing customer-centricity to network operations, providing consistency, scale, and quality by understanding hundreds of KPIs for the entire network.

- Ericsson's unique approach to AI, including the development of their own AI algorithms and the use of their cognitive software solution, as well as their focus on applied research in graph neural network algorithms and large language models.

https://youtu.be/wcttMaGBBTo

Like our videos? Want to participate? Contact info@nextgeninfra.io

Check out complete MWC Barcelona 2024 Showcase at: https://ngi.fyi/mwc24yt

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#MWC24: AI's Impact on Optical Transport Networks

What impact will AI have on optical transport networks? Jon Baldry, Director Metro Marketing from Infinera, explains:

  • AI is a significant bandwidth driver, currently driving massive bandwidth inside data centers and anticipated to spill out into inter-data center networks in the near future.
  • AI's need for a large data pool to make informed decisions will drive a higher volume of traffic in data center networks.
  • AI, particularly machine learning, can be used to help network operators optimize their networks, predict network behavior, guide network maintenance, and improve overall network efficiency.


https://youtu.be/EjhG0HKsSWo

Like our videos? Want to participate? Contact info@nextgeninfra.io

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#MWC24: Industrial Use Cases Drive AI

Global Carriers are watching AI quite closely.  What are the strongest uses cases? Parm Sandhu, VP Enterprise 5G Products & Services from NTT DATA, shares: 

- The increasing importance of AI in various sectors such as manufacturing, pharma, transportation, and logistics, enhancing worker efficiency, productivity, and faster product turnaround.

- The role of AI in supply chain management, parts management, and worker training to resolve problems and reduce downtime.

- The upcoming collaboration between NTT and Schneider, combining Schneider's ecostructure capabilities and NTT's Edge as a service infrastructure for developing AI transformation at the edge. 


https://youtu.be/SI4al2zTY7A

Join us to learn more about these real-world applications of AI and how they're shaping the future of industrial operations.

Like our videos? Want to participate? Contact info@nextgeninfra.io

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Samsung’s 5G Standalone Core powers KDDI

Samsung's cloud-native Standalone (SA) Core went live supporting KDDI’s nationwide commercial 5G SA services in Japan. This enables improved reliability and faster response times, required for applications such as cloud gaming, autonomous vehicles, real-time robotics and immersive video.

Samsung’s 5G SA Core supports:

  •  Multi-level redundancy. Leveraging the cloud-native architecture, Samsung’s 5G SA Core is designed to have no single point of failure with multi-level redundancy. This ensures high resilience and reliable service continuity in every part of the system.
  • Multi-vendor interoperability. It can be easily integrated with third-party 5G core network functions and OSS for flexible deployment and automation.
  • Seamless upgrades to SA. With one software package that supports NSA and SA, Samsung’s solution can facilitate a smooth migration to 5G SA.
  • Session continuity with geo-redundancy. Deployed at various locations, Samsung’s 5G SA Cores provide session continuity support to ensure stability and reliability. Each SA core is dimensioned to pick up loads in case one of the active core becomes unavailable due to traffic bursts or natural disasters.

One of the key benefits of 5G SA Core is network slicing, which divides a single physical network infrastructure into multiple virtual slices, and each slice is dedicated to a specific user case or application. A single network can dynamically support multiple 5G use cases and applications at once, accelerating the delivery of new services and meeting the tailored demands of enterprises and consumers.

Recently, KDDI and Samsung signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to form a 5G Global Network Slicing Alliance, aiming to introduce an array of commercial 5G network slicing services and to assess new business models.

https://news.samsung.com/global/samsungs-5g-standalone-core-goes-live-in-kddis-nationwide-commercial-network

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DOCOMO and NEC to establish "OREX SAI” Joint Venture for O-RAN

NTT DOCOMO and NEC will establish a joint venture company called OREX SAI with a mission to support the full-scale global deployment of Open RAN services.

OREX SAI will locally source products and services from members of OREX PARTNERS in each market and perform system verifications to deliver mobile networks tailored to the needs of each overseas telecommunications operator. Leveraging NEC's established business infrastructure and global network in over 50 countries and territories, the joint venture will accelerate its global expansion of Open RAN business.

In addition, DOCOMO and NEC plan to strengthen cooperation with OREX PARTNERS through OREX SAI to promote the commercialization and realization of true Open RAN that enables the interoperability of equipment and systems from diverse vendors.

https://group.ntt/en/newsrelease/

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Joint Statement Endorsing Principles for 6G

The governments of the United States, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and the United Kingdom published a joint statement on  shared principles for the research and development of 6G wireless communication systems.

The shared principles:

Trusted Technology and Protective of National Security     

  • 6G technologies that are supported by secure and resilient technology as part of a wider secure trusted communications ecosystem, facilitating the ability of participating governments and partners to protect national security.

Secure, Resilient, and Protective of Privacy     

  • 6G technologies developed by organizations that have systematic approaches to cybersecurity, including through the use of technical standards, interfaces, and specifications; approaches such as security-by-design, able to ensure the availability of essential services; and systems designed to fail safely and recover quickly.   
  • 6G technologies that are reliable, resilient, safe, and protect the privacy of individuals.  
  • 6G technologies and architectures that provide a high level of security on communication networks, including by mitigating potential risks posed by greater network complexity or larger attack surfaces.

Global Industry-led and Inclusive Standard Setting & International Collaborations

  • 6G technologies that are built on global standards, interfaces, and specifications that are developed through open, transparent, impartial and consensus-based decision-making processes.
  • 6G technologies that are built on global standards that respect intellectual property rights, that promote sustainability, accessibility, inclusive participation, interoperability, competitiveness, openness, and security.

Cooperation to Enable Open and Interoperable Innovation     

  • 6G technologies that use standards in line with principles laid down under the Global Industry-led and Inclusive Standard Setting & International Collaborations principle and interfaces to enable seamless interoperability between products from different suppliers, including software and hardware.
  • 6G technologies that recognize the importance of international cooperation in promoting open, secure, resilient, inclusive, interoperable networks, such as Open Radio Access Networks, and safe, resilient, inclusive, and sustainable 6G ecosystem.
  • 6G technologies that benefit from joint research, development and testing, and which leverage innovative technologies such as virtualization, software-defined networking, artificial intelligence.
  • Affordability, Sustainability, and Global Connectivity   
  • 6G technologies that allow for energy-efficient deployments and operation, improving both environmental sustainability, reparability and recyclability of equipment, and the affordability necessary to support social sustainability.
  • 6G technologies that are accessible through mechanisms such as economies of scale, enabled by standardization and competitive environment, and able to bridge digital divides, delivering reliable coverage and consistent quality of experience, minimizing disparity in service levels wherever possible while allowing for innovative use cases.
  • 6G technologies that contribute towards empowering other industries and sectors to reduce their environmental impacts by promoting digital transformation.
  • 6G technologies that are widely available and accessible to developing nations.
  • 6G technologies that leverage non-terrestrial networks (NTN) such as satellite and High-Altitude Platform Station (HAPS).

Spectrum and Manufacturing     

  • 6G technologies that have secure and resilient supply chains.
  • 6G technologies that promote a globally competitive market along the ICT value chain and in all elements of the compute and connectivity continuum, with multiple software and hardware suppliers.
  • 6G technologies that could make use of new spectrum allocations or spectrum that has already been allocated for wireless services.
  • 6G technologies that use spectrum efficiently and incorporate spectrum sharing mechanisms by design to coexist with incumbent service providers. 

https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en/joint-statement-endorsing-principles-6g-secure-open-and-resilient-design

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Samsung runs vRAN 3.0 with Intel's Granite Rapids-D

 Samsung Electronics, in collaboration with Intel, completed the industry's first end-to-end call in a laboratory setting using a future Intel Xeon processor, codenamed Granite Rapids-D, within a virtualized Open RAN network powered by Samsung's vRAN 3.0. The companies are committed to advancing the capabilities of virtualized Open RAN networks to improve performance and increase capacity. The successful test, conducted in Samsung's R&D facilities in Korea, utilized Samsung's vRAN technology, which is compliant with O-RAN standards, integrated with Intel's upcoming processor, alongside Samsung's Core and testing devices, achieving notable performance enhancements and power efficiency.

This latest development builds upon a fruitful multi-year collaboration between the two tech giants that began in 2017, focusing on virtualized RAN (vRAN) technologies. Over the years, this partnership has led to significant advancements in vRAN deployment, including the use of Intel's processors to enhance vRAN performance across various generations, culminating in the commercial deployment of large-scale vRAN networks with leading Tier-1 operators. Notably, the collaboration achieved a milestone with the 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors by completing the industry's first data call on a commercial network shortly after these processors became commercially available. The results of the most recent tests, demonstrating the advancements in vRAN technology and efficiency, are set to be showcased at the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2024, indicating the ongoing innovation and leadership of Samsung and Intel in the telecommunications industry.

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NEC selected by NTT DOCOMO for vRAN

 NTT DOCOMO named NEC as a virtualized radio access network (vRAN) vendor for its nationwide 5G commercial network services. NEC already provides virtualization technologies for vEPC for DOCOMO’s 4G commercial services and 5G mobile core network (5GC). Going forward, by promoting the virtualization of the RAN domain, NEC will flexibly support DOCOMO’s wide range of services and contribute to the creation of a high-quality 5G network.

In addition, through OREX —the Open RAN service brand provided by DOCOMO in collaboration with telecom carriers and vendors worldwide—NEC’s software will be globally deployed in the same manner as the products and services of other OREX partners to create and promote an Open RAN ecosystem.

This vRAN, which achieves carrier-grade quality that is compliant with the O-RAN specifications defined by the O-RAN ALLIANCE, is cloud-native and was developed based on NEC’s 5G hardware base station technology and knowhow, for which it has a proven large-scale commercial track record. Equipped with software compatible with commercially available servers using the latest generation microprocessors, it also delivers high-speed, large-capacity communications unique to 5G by proactively utilizing hardware acceleration to speed up processing.

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Edgecore Wi-Fi intros OpenLAN Switching Lineup

Edgecore Networks introduced its OpenLAN Switching (OLS) product line with six switch series and over twenty unique models, enhancing Edgecore Wi-Fi's position in the industry. It also establishes Edgecore Wi-Fi as the supplier with the most diverse OLS product offerings on the market. 

The Telecom Infra Project's OpenLAN Switching (OLS) initiative, which upon the OpenWiFi framework, offers a harmonized solution for LAN switches, embodying the same principles as OpenWiFi: it is open-source, supports a multi-vendor environment, ensures robust interoperability with white-box devices, and provides an improved, thoroughly verified end-to-end system. OLS is particularly focused on fulfilling these essential criteria to meet the modern demands of LAN infrastructure.

The series includes the ECS1100, ECS2100, ECS4100, ECS4125, ECS4150, and ECS4650 models, each offering diverse port configurations, multi-Gigabit capabilities, and various PoE (Power over Ethernet) budget options.

Specifically, OLS is dedicated to meeting the following key requirements:

  • Support for advanced PoE++ functionality required by Wi-Fi 6E/7 and 6 GHz access points.
  • Provide a unified Wi-Fi and switch solution.
  • Extremely low latency and high bandwidth experiences.
  • Deliver applicable solutions for millions of commercial buildings across industries such as education, retail, and hospitality.

ECS1100 Series: Tailored for small to medium network needs, the ECS1100 series is an entry-level Layer 2 smart switch suite from 5 to 28 ports, offering up to 480W of PoE++ power. The ECS1100-5P model is perfect for chain-stores and small offices, whereas the ECS1100-10HP & ECS1100-28HP are designed to handle more connections and devices with higher power requirements.

ECS2100 Series: The Layer 2/Layer 2+ switch. This mid-range suite ranges from 8 to 48 ports with variable PoE power levels, apt for medium-sized businesses seeking scalability. For instance, the ECS2100-28PP delivers up to 370W of PoE power, ideal for supporting several high-power devices such as Wi-Fi 6 access points.

ECS4100 Series: Targeting enterprise environments that require superior performance, the ECS4100 series is a Layer 2+/Layer 3 Lite switch that offers 8 to 48 port configurations, with select models featuring up to 370W of PoE power. Models like the ECS4100-52P are suitable for extensive office complexes or educational facilities, where the demand for high throughput and low latency.

ECS4125 and ECS4150 Series: Catering to high-end market needs, the ECS4125 series and ECS4150 series are Layer 2+/Layer 3 Lite switches that come equipped with functionalities including static routing and RIP (Routing Information Protocol), enhancing their versatility and capability. The ECS4125-10P has eight 2.5G ports and two 10G SFP+ uplink ports, providing up to 240W PoE++ power that is geared towards SMBs with higher data rate requirements. The ECS4150 series, exemplified by the ECS4150-54P model, targets high-performance sectors with its robust 740W PoE support and six 25G SFP28 ports, accommodating extensive high-speed network deployments and readiness for emerging technologies.

ECS4650 Series: Engineered for high-density access and swift uplink demands, the ECS4650 series stands out as a full Layer 3 switch. The ECS4650-54T model boasts 48 1GbE ports, six 25G SFP28 uplinks, and a substantial 369Gbps switching capacity. Meanwhile, the ECS4650-54P variant enhances its capabilities with extensive PoE+ and PoE++ options, delivering a total power output of 740W across its ports to cater to diverse device requirements. With support for static and dynamic routing, this series is well-suited for data centers and large enterprises seeking advanced networking solutions.


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