Australian telecom operator Telstra has selected Swedish technology company Ericsson and other technology companies for its Network of the Future transformation program.
Telstra aims for expanding the company’s optical network in Australia. Telstra will also conduct 5G New Radio trials with the aim of conducting 5G launch early.
Telstra will create a media delivery cloud to complement the existing Telco Cloud project, which is now carrying live traffic,
Deployment of Australia’s largest Internet of Things (IoT) network via deployment of Cat M1 functionality across Australia is also one of the prime focus areas for Telstra.
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“These projects lay the foundations of the program we described in October 2016 and provide the foundation for Telstra’s Network of the Future program,” said Mike Wright, Telstra Group Managing Director, Networks.
As per the deal, Ericsson will deliver a 3-year optical transmission network plan to expand Telstra’s long haul, metro and regional optical networks – the foundation for Telstra’s fixed and mobile networks.
Ericsson will supply, install and integrate the next generation of converged packet-optical solutions from Ciena — to meet expected traffic growth, and support critical IoT and 5G traffic, along with cloud and media services.
5G NR trials
Ericsson, Telstra and Qualcomm Technologies will conduct interoperability testing and an over-the-air field trial based on the expected 5G NR specifications being developed by 3GPP.
NFVi
Telstra’s Network Function Virtualization infrastructure (NFVi) program has made progress to enable the first video call over a virtualized network function, the Enhanced Packed Gateway (EPG). Delivery of live traffic on the NFVi platform is an important step towards preparing the Telstra mobile network for 5G.
Telstra aims to extend the Ericsson cloud platform deployment to include a media-optimized cloud specially configured to carry dedicated broadcast media workloads. Telstra’s goal for the broadcast sector is to provide reliable and resilient network access.
Telstra IoT network
Telstra is the first operator to deploy a national IoT-enabled mobile network which will enable an IoT footprint among the largest in the world. The deployed Cat-M1 capability will allow Telstra to deploy a range of IoT applications quickly and flexibly.
In addition to Qualcomm Technologies and Ericsson, technology companies such as Ciena, Sierra Wireless, Altair and Bosch are partners of the transformation project.
