SK Telecom and Samsung have recently demonstrated their jointly-developed 5G Next-Generation Core (5G NC) based on 3GPP Release-15 standards.
5G NC operates independently of the LTE network and makes new features available. 5G NC was developed with a new service-based architecture that introduces software features, such as Control and User Planes Separation, Network Slicing and Virtualized Network Functions (VNF) deployed on containers, the latest in virtualization technology.
This is the first trial of 5G NC in the world that implements VNFs based on 3GPP standards-compliant, service-based architecture, claims Samsung.
Characteristics of 5G NC
- As diverse services with complex requirements continue to emerge, the new 5G NC is able to identify service types and process the traffic accordingly.
- Moving beyond proprietary technologies, the 5G NC control plane includes the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) international standard, which has been newly adopted by 3GPP. HTTP enables a seamless connection between the core network and web-based services and allows third parties such as start-ups to create new 5G services easily. As a result, they can provide an optimal service to customers, leveraging network-related information, such as location and data, throughout.
- 5G NC is also characterized by its ability to guarantee both operational stability and unprecedented user experience. This is achieved by automatically selecting the best path between device and internet and by adding intelligent automatic management to restore the network instantaneously if issues occur.