Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is the first company in the US to unveil an end-to-end virtualized 5G data session. SVP (Technology and Planning) of Verizon, Adam Koeppe, said the company put in significant efforts spanning several years to redesign the network architecture, which modernizes and simplifies the entire network.
Responds to the needs of customers
Verizon achieved a milestone in laying the foundation for it to quickly respond to computing needs and varied latency of customers by offering a basis for the network slicing and mobile edge computing on a large scale.
In early August 2020, Verizon introduced 5G mobile edge computing for the developers using wavelength of AWS at its 5G Edge locations based in the Bay Area and Boston. Virtualization in RAN (Radio Access Network) is very important because Verizon extends its leadership in MEC.
RAN virtualization decouples hardware and software functionality
RAN’s virtualization decouples hardware and software functionality and allows the network to be developed using general-purpose hardware instead of custom-built hardware. Verizon achieves greater agility and flexibility in launching innovative products and services using COTS (Common Off-The-Shelf) hardware. It eliminates the need for upgrading the single-purpose hardware. The company can use a container-based virtualized architecture using the standardized interfaces by moving to a cloud-native to deliver services and achieve greater flexibility and economies quickly.
According to Koeppe, Verizon maintains an edge in virtualizing the core and bullish in R&D of open RAN technology for the past several years. It also achieved success in testing that great technology.
New vendors can seamlessly enter the ecosystem of Verizon following virtualization. They can lower operating costs, promote innovation, and establish the basis for cloud infrastructure and flexible network close to the client.
Supports digital world
Verizon can support remote healthcare, AR/VR, using automated robots in the production, robust consumer devices/ solutions, IoT (Internet of things) on a large scale, and ubiquitous smart city solutions through delivering secure end-to-end virtualization.
Verizon took the help of several companies like Samsung, Intel, and Wind River to demonstrate RAN virtualization successfully. The company sourced a scalable Xeon processor, an Ethernet network adapter, and FPGA Programmable Acceleration Card from Intel for its virtualization needs. Also, Samsung offered its 5G virtualized RAN solution to Verizon to accomplish virtualization in RAN.
