COVID-19 has heightened existing operator and public awareness and fears of network vulnerabilities. Cyber criminals have actively weaponized pandemic news and accelerated network attacks of all types, and mobile operators are scrambling to meet new traffic demands on 4G networks as they evolve the networks to 5G. Operators and their enterprise customers have voiced increased concerns about 5G security for some time. For example, in a recent survey conducted by the BPI Network[1] and A10 Networks, security is cited as a top requirement for 5G networks, nearly on a par with network reach and co ..read more

The first phase of 5G build-out is now well underway in major markets around the world. Increasingly, the big mobile service providers and some new entrants, as well, are in the midst of their first 5G deployments or will begin them this year. Mobile operators say their industry has made rapid progress toward 5G deployment over the past 12 months, especially in major markets. And while the initial implementations are non-standalone 5G, which takes advantage of existing 4G core networks, fully virtualized/cloud-native or standalone 5G is already on the drawing board. Meanwhile, cybersecurity re ..read more

The May 2020 edition of RCR Wireless News provides a comprehensive overview of the role edge computing will play in accelerating the digital transformation enabled by the rollout of 5G deployments. While typically heralded for its speed and responsiveness, 5G alone cannot drive the revenue-generating services and applications that telcos need to justify their investments in 5G technologies. A successful 5G strategy for service providers needs to incorporate complementary technologies to offer the kind of innovative, real-time services that can also deliver real revenue opportunities. The optim ..read more

The edge is getting crowded, and mobile operators, cloud providers and enterprises are staking a position to determine who will benefit from edge computing and capture revenues from new services. Amazon, Google, Microsoft, AT&T have already announced major edge strategies that include infrastructure for mobile edge computing that will complement or compete with operators for new low-latency 5G services. IDC has estimated that by 2023, more than half of all worldwide GDP is predicted to be driven by products and services from digitally transformed industries. For organizations to stay compe ..read more

In March, RCR Wireless News issued an in-depth overview of the state of 5G deployments worldwide entitled What’s the Status of 5G Globally? The report covered major developments in the 5G ecosystem, including adoption rates, impediments to 5G rollouts, device availability, statics on specific regions, and more. A key takeaway is that everything surrounding adoption — from successful 5G deployments to the rate of service rollouts and scale — depends on the specific policies of a given country and the technologies utilized by their mobile service providers. Such an environment makes it difficult ..read more

Service providers, including fixed and mobile operators, are currently under pressure to supply unprecedented mobile network capacity as mobile data traffic surges and subscribers consume more and more traffic of all different kinds. As operators prepare for and launch 5G networks, they must scale 5G security and other infrastructure to meet these escalating requirements. Growing 5G Traffic Demand According to Ericsson, the total number of mobile subscriptions continues to grow at three percent year-on-year reaching around eight billion in Q3 2019 with 61 million subscriptions added during tha ..read more

A10 Networks employees have been under orders to “shelter in place” and nearly everyone is working from home. All schools are closed, and restaurants are open for takeout only. As my co-workers and friends adjust to this new style of working and connecting, I’ve noticed a willingness to try new technology from people that I think of as very “non-technical.” So, in the long-term, this will bode well for overcoming adoption barriers for 5G. Here are some examples of small companies and individuals that likely would never have explored virtual options for what could be considered “hands on,” non ..read more

SK Telecom has achieved another “first” in 5G When SK Telecom announced its “5GX” in 2018, it identified four distinct components to its value proposition – speed, latency, stability, and security. This is a remarkable shift from how mobile operators have traditionally differentiated themselves. Speed and reliability have been the cornerstone of most mobile operator branding strategies with 3G and 4G commercialization. By pulling security and latency into the forefront, SKT is demonstrating how important these capabilities are to the business success of 5G services and resetting the bar for ho ..read more

Out of the utmost caution and concern for the well-being of our employees, partners and customers, we have made the decision to pull out of MWC 2020 in Barcelona this year. The growing concern about the spread of the Coronavirus and the fact that there is no known vaccine at this point has driven the decision to keep our employees at home to reduce the risk of exposure from travel and large crowds. GSMA announced on Wednesday, February 12 that it has cancelled the event. Let’s Meet Virtually While the event is no longer taking place, our leadership team is still available to meet with you, eit ..read more

The global pandemic has pushed Internet traffic up 50 percent or more in some markets and service providers are scrambling to increase capacity as subscribers work and play more at home and as enterprise shift to on-line business models. Service provider traffic has increased beyond expected trends in all categories and applications – voice, text/SMS, mobile, fixed, Internet, gaming, streaming video, video conferencing and more.  As mentioned in previous blog posts, service providers of all types, including mobile operators, ISPs, cable operators, and CDNs are reporting increases related ..read more