Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announced a breakthrough in the journey to true 5G adoption with the launch of HPE 5G Core Stack, an open, cloud-native 5G core network solution that accelerates the journey to new 5G revenue streams, seamlessly integrates with previous generation networks and is future proofed for forthcoming milestones in 5G standards. HPE 5G Core Stack will be available as a pre-integrated software and hardware solution, on a pay-as-you-use basis with HPE GreenLake, allowing telcos to deploy a 5G core network with reduced risk and little upfront investment.

While some carriers have already started deploying 5G radio access networks (RAN) services, the true value of 5G will only be realized when access networks are combined with a 5G core network. This will enable holistic management, data sharing, and slicing into virtual 5G networks with dedicated usage and characteristics. Although the functional gains and operational efficiency improvements are substantial, the pace of adoption and the technical capabilities required for the new use cases that will monetize 5G are still largely unclear. By deploying HPE 5G Core Stack with HPE GreenLake, carriers acquire a purpose-built, open platform for 5G with minimal up-front investment, and scale according to demand, with an elastic software ecosystem, ready to support unpredictable growth and future-proofed for forthcoming 5G evolutions.

The communications industry has traditionally depended on proprietary vertically integrated systems, but the promise of 5G can only be unleashed through open, cloud-native platforms that allow telcos to bring new 5G services to the market quickly while bridging from previous generation networks. By deploying an extensible, cloud-native 5G core, telcos can swap out network functions as needed, responding to market developments while avoiding vendor lock-in, which has been typical in the telecom industry.

HPE has been a leading player in the telecom industry for decades, providing carrier-grade industry-standard infrastructure that is enabling the cloudification of communication networks, and providing software components through its Communication and Media Solutions (CMS) business that are decoupled from proprietary infrastructures, helping telcos transform their legacy networks into a service-based architecture ready for 5G.

HPE 5G Core Stack

HPE 5G Core Stack is a fully featured turnkey 5G core network software stack that offers slicing, interworking with previous generation network technologies, and end-to-end automation. It has been designed to be cloud-native from the ground-up and includes stateless containerized network functions (CNF) from HPE and partners, a shared data environment (SDE), a common platform as a service (PaaS) architecture, end-to-end Management and Orchestration (MANO), and automation framework, all pre-integrated on carrier-grade infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and is proven for end-to-end production.

“Openness is essential to the evolutionary nature of 5G. With multi-generational networks, where services delivered across 3G, 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi and edge networks will be common, service providers need to reduce operational costs and keep themselves open to multiple networks and technologies while avoiding being locked-in to a single vendor approach,” said Phil Mottram, VP and GM of HPE Communications and Media Solutions. “Investing in a new 5G network before the revenue streams are there is a financial and technical challenge for many carriers, but with HPE 5G Core Stack, telcos can start deployments today and pay for the infrastructure as their revenue grows.”

HPE 5G Core Stack enables carriers to deliver differentiated quality services across their existing and future networks. It is fast to integrate, simple to operate, future proof, and scales with usage.

HPE GreenLake infrastructure as a service

HPE GreenLake is our market-leading IT as-a-service offering that brings the cloud experience to apps and data everywhere – data centers, multi-clouds, and edges – with one unified operating model and is now available to the telecom industry. With 10 years of experience, and over $3bn under contract, HPE GreenLake is a mature service that is well suited to the telecom community.

HPE GreenLake leverages a growing portfolio of telco-specific hardware and software blueprints from HPE for edge and core workloads, helping carriers on their journey to 5G on a pay-per-use basis. HPE telco blueprints offer validated configurations optimized for specific core and edge telco workloads simplifying and accelerating time to value for customers. The telco edge blueprints include HPE Edgeline systems that are ideal for Virtual Radio Access Network solutions and Multi Access Edge Computing applications commonly found at the edge of the telco networks. HPE telco blueprints will be available from HPE GreenLake, starting with the core infrastructure-as-a-service blueprint and adding more over time, including support for the entire 5G stack. HPE GreenLake can provide open software-defined infrastructure as a service for network equipment providers or telcos that want to deploy their own software stacks.

Availability

The full HPE 5G Core Stack will be available globally in the second half of 2020 with consumption-based pricing based on HPE GreenLake models. HPE telco blueprints are available from today, directly or through HPE GreenLake.

For more information, please visit www.hpe.com/info/5G.

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is the global edge-to-cloud platform-as-a-service company that helps organizations accelerate outcomes by unlocking value from all of their data, everywhere. Built on decades of reimagining the future and innovating to advance the way people live and work, HPE delivers unique, open and intelligent technology solutions, with a consistent experience across all clouds and edges, to help customers develop new business models, engage in new ways, and increase operational performance.

For more information, visit www.hpe.com.