Enea have launched the 5G Service Engine (5G-SE), a 4G and 5G dual-mode convergent platform to enable CSPs to launch new 5G enhanced services and seamlessly transition existing 4G services. CSPs can now deploy Gi-LAN and N6 services simultaneously with both the 4G Packet Gateway and the 5G function (UPF) in a multi-vendor cloud-native architecture. This flexibility means CSPs no longer need to maintain services within each packet core, reducing costs and complexity dramatically to manage dual operations and the 4G/5G transition.
Despite strong growth in 5G uptake, 4G subscriptions are still on the rise. In Q1 2022, 4G grew by 70 million to reach 4.9 billion[1], and the point at which 5G subscriptions could surpass 4G is years away, in 2027. As 4G’s dominance continues, CSPs need agile architecture that can manage dual-mode services during the transition.
The Enea 5G-Service Engine meets high-performance requirements while providing a reduced physical footprint and ease of deployment through an automated, centralized management system. This reduces the total cost of ownership and time to market for new services.
“There is no real ‘standalone’ when it comes to core networks,” said Osvaldo Aldao, Vice President of Product Management. “In order to get efficiencies, CSPs will have to converge in-line services for 4G EPC and 5G-Core. We have developed the Enea 5G Service Engine with that conviction in mind. It helps forward-looking operators to easily transition existing 4G network services and efficiencies and deliver a better 4G and 5G end-user experience.”
The 5G-Service Engine also features a stateless architecture that uses a common data store for all 5G and 4G subscriber session information. This facilitates horizontal scalability and provides a seamless transition between both the radio and packet core.
“As we move into the true 5G era with standalone networks, operators want to offer new services that 5G promises along with integrating existing services from the 4G world,” stated Dave Bolan, Research Director at Dell’Oro Group. “Enea’s 5G Service Engine certainly meets the need for simplifying operations and offering more value-added services for operators’ customers, with the latest container-based cloud-native architecture enabling microservices to be offered by the operators.’