At MWC Shanghai 2021, Huawei officially released a 5G voice solution, Single Voice Core, helping operators improve voice quality and build a cloud-based 5G voice network.
Voice calls have always been considered one of the most reliable means of communication. As protocols stipulate that voice calls cannot fall back from 5G to 2G/3G networks, the IMS-based VoLTE network was set as the basic voice network following the commencement of 5G. As such, operators must invest in and operate multiple networks, causing inconsistent service, cumbersome O&M, and other issues.
To better understand these challenges, we can introduce a concept from the economic industry, the misery index, to tally network complexity. The misery index for an operator is determined by the number of networks, platforms, and NEs owned by an operator, as well as an O&M complexity factor. The larger the misery index is, the more cumbersome O&M is. For example, an operator serves about 10 million subscribers. In 2G/3G, the overall network is simple, and the misery index for the operator is about 260. In 5G, a VoLTE network is necessary, and CS and IMS networks must coexist for a long period of time. In this case, the misery index for the operator is 700. As a large number of devices on the live network will reach the end of their life cycles in the next two years, the misery index will soar to over 1000.
As a result, Huawei has proposed the Single Voice Core solution. This innovative solution adopts all-cloud IMS architecture and aims to integrate CS and IMS networks to simplify the network topology, inherit all basic CS services, and provide unified interfaces. With the Single Voice Core solution, media transcoding times and call forwarding times are reduced, improving voice quality, reducing hardware usage by 30%, and lowering OPEX by 40%. In addition, the integrated network supports access of and offers services for 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, and fixed-line subscribers. The Single Voice Core solution can reduce the misery index to 220 or lower, making it the best choice for operators to provide voice services with 5G.
Huawei is committed to developing and innovating voice network technologies and has accumulated years of extensive experience. Huawei will continue to inspire and innovate, as well as collaborate with partners to boost new voice services and create new value for customers.
Source: https://www.huawei.com/en/news/2021/3/single-voice-core