VMware has been chosen as Vodafone’s strategic technology partner to create a single platform to manage and coordinate all workloads running on its core networks across Europe, beginning with 5G standalone (5G SA). As service providers continue to virtualize and containerize network services, they’ll need a standardized, cloud-native platform to onboard and manage these workloads across any network and cloud.
Johan Wibergh, Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone, said, “We’ve made great strides in modernizing and virtualizing our core network. Now we must turn our attention to layering in automation, software engineering, and cloud-native principles to simplify operations and accelerate how quickly we can deploy new applications. VMware Telco Cloud Platform will help us achieve these goals and reach our Tech 2025 targets faster.”
“As service providers modernize their networks to transition to 5G, they require a single platform to automate and streamline delivery of multi-vendor network functions across network core, RAN and edge. VMware Telco Cloud Platform provides this unifying platform to simplify operations, accelerate automation and increase feature velocity across all parts of the network,” said Sanjay Uppal, senior vice president and general manager, Service Provider and Edge, VMware.
He added, “Through its partnership with VMware, Vodafone is modernizing its network infrastructure with automation built in, setting them up for long-term success as they roll out 5G services to even more markets in the coming years.”
VMware Telco Cloud Infrastructure was earlier introduced as Vodafone’s Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) platform. Vodafone finished rolling out Telco Cloud Infrastructure across all of its European businesses and 21 markets last year. The organisation witnessed increased productivity as it got network operations online 40 percent faster and saved up to 55 percent on costs.
Vodafone is now extending its cooperation with VMware to include all European markets in the deployment of the VMware Telco Cloud Platform. Vodafone will use VMware Tanzu for Telco and VMware Telco Cloud Automation to coordinate all network functions and services, regardless of vendor, to run its core networks, in addition to Telco Cloud Infrastructure for NFV.
Vodafone’s continuous cooperation with VMware is a key component of the company’s Tech 2025 technology strategy. Vodafone will focus on establishing a network platform as part of this five-year strategy, commencing with the implementation of 5G SA, which will be followed by a slew of other digital network capabilities based on VMware’s cloudnative architecture. These include phone over IP, next-generation videoconferencing, and virtual/augmented reality, all of which are coordinated into the appropriate network slices based on customer needs.
Vodafone has started rolling out VMware Telco Cloud Platform in eight European nations — Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania, and the United Kingdom – and will eventually expand to all 11 areas.
The VMware Telco Cloud Platform is a cloud-native platform that enables service providers to quickly install and efficiently manage multi-vendor CNFs and VNFs across 5G and other networks with agility and scalability.
From the core to the edge to the radio access network, there are networks (RAN). VMware Telco Cloud Infrastructure and VMware Telco Cloud Automation are the two key components of this architecture, which Vodafone will roll out across its European markets.
