Leading the way for consumers and enterprises through 5G network flexibility
SK Telecom strengthened 5G network operation capabilities and flexibility, significantly improving traffic processing efficiency. Learn how they innovated to reduce complexity.
Background
The beginning of a cloud-native 5G Core journey
At the beginning of 2019, Ericsson and SK Telecom started a cloud-native 5G Core collaboration. In the same year SK Telecom went live with virtual 5G Core NSA. In July of 2022, they went live with a bare-metal cloud-native 5G Core which enabled SK Telecom to continue its track record of innovation in the mobile industry, securing another “world-first” for South Korea.
Watch this video where Jong-Kwan Park, VP and Head of Infra Technology at SK Telecom, and Joong-Gunn Park, Core Development Team Leader at SK Telecom, share their insights and learnings from this journey.
Jong-Kwan Park, VP and Head of Infra Technology, SK Telecom
Key goals of SK Telecom’s cloud-native journey
To complement the existing network environment, SK Telecom deployed a leading-edge telecommunications technology for an easy onboarding of applications with stable high-performance system and efficiency with total cost of ownership (TCO) savings.
- Secure 5G NSA and SA service readiness on time and with the flexibility demanded by Korean market
- Reduce complexity and operational inefficiencies from running different core network architectures for 4G and 5G
- Speed up innovation and their ability to deliver new services from the edge to center of the network
The solution
The first phase of 5G deployment introduced the cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core, initially deployed with EPC network functions for 5G NSA. In the next phases, 5G Core CNFs will be introduced to support 5G SA and then all cloud-native EPC and 5G Core NFs will be merged into a common 5G Core platform with dual-mode operation, to serve both 5G NSA and 5G SA.
The journey encompasses the evolution to the bare-metal Ericsson Cloud Native Infrastructure, which enables elimination of the virtualization layer, delivering greater efficiency as well as improved automation and performance.
The result
The result is a highly capable and reliable 5G Core network with a simplified architecture, for the rapid introduction of new services, greatly improving network performance, increasing efficiency through faster responses to changes in traffic volume.
- The first service provider in the world to offer commercially live 5G services using a bare-metal infrastructure solution.
- Reaffirm their position as technology leader in South Korea with a leading cloud-native 5G Core solution.
- Set a solid baseline and readiness to provide 5G SA-based service in a flexible way, both at the edge and the center of the network.
- Greater speed and agility to bring new services to market in line with their customer needs.
- Pave the way for a common core network platform from both LTE, 5G NSA and 5G SA enabling TCO optimization. With IaaS removal improved capabilities are maximized, therefore also simplifying the operational organization.
SK Telecom’s journey to a one-core solution, to serve all its different access types, continues, and the Ericsson cloud-native 5G Core solution will gradually expand to lead the way for consumers and enterprise.
Joong-Gunn Park, Core Development Team Leader, SK Telecom
