5G Factor: Key MWC24 Takeaways – The Cloud and Telcos

In this episode of The 5G Factor, our series that focuses on all things 5G, the IoT, and the 5G ecosystem as a whole, we look at the top cloud and telco takeaways from conversations and sessions at Mobile World Congress 2024. The major takeaways consist of Red Hat and Tech Mahindra boosting their hybrid cloud collaboration, Red Hat and NTT working with Fujitsu and NVIDIA to ready IOWN environments for real-time edge AI data analytics, Indonesia's Telkomsel selecting Google Cloud to integrate GenAI for augmenting its operations and product offerings, VMware focusing on assuring the DISH Wireless Open RAN build in the US, and TELUS using HPE servers to complete its Open RAN mission in Canada. 

Our analytical review focused on:

Red Hat and Tech Mahindra Uplift Hybrid Cloud Capabilities. Red Hat and Tech Mahindra announced a collaboration aimed at making it easier for telecommunication service providers to accelerate and manage 5G adoption and deployments across the hybrid cloud. Tech Mahindra's Multi-mode Companion Cloud with Red Hat OpenShift running on AWS can support multiple network use cases, spanning RAN, edge computing, transport and 5G core, to extend capabilities across hybrid cloud environments with integrated automation and orchestration capabilities. We delve into why Red Hat OpenShift provides the infrastructure and application layer key to supporting operations at scale across any cloud environment, with Tech Mahindra's netOps.ai offering a unified view to manage infrastructure and automate applications with low touch provisioning. Plus, we look at how Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes enables full cloud lifecycle management to automate Day 0 and Day 1 configurations and orchestrate workloads across Red Hat OpenShift clusters on-premises and on AWS.

Red Hat and NTT Show IOWN Ready for Real-time Edge AI Data Analysis. As part of the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (or IOWN) initiative, Red Hat and NTT in collaboration with NVIDIA and Fujitsu, have jointly developed a solution targeted at enhancing and extending the potential for real-time AI data analysis at the edge. Using technologies developed by the IOWN Global Forum and built on the foundation of Red Hat OpenShift this solution has received an IOWN Global Forum's Proof of Concept (PoC) recognition for its real world viability and use cases. The PoC evaluated a real-time AI analysis platform4 with Yokosuka City as the sensor installation base and Musashino City as the remote data center, both connected through the IOWN All-Photonics Network. We assess why this is a breakthrough for AI edge applications since even when many cameras were accommodated, the latency required to aggregate sensor data for AI analysis was reduced by 60% compared to conventional AI inference workloads.

 

Telkomsel Selects Google Cloud to Boost Operations and Products with GenAI. Telkomsel announced a strategic collaboration with Google Cloud to integrate enterprise-grade generative AI (gen AI) into its operations and core product offerings for consumers and businesses. This latest collaboration builds on Telkomsel's ongoing use of Google's AI-powered advertising tools, such as Performance Max, with the aim of transforming its employee and customer interactions, augmenting overall user satisfaction, and improving business outcomes. Moreover, Nokia is running AVA Data Suite on Google Cloud to facilitate AI/ML development. We examine why such moves are further validating the overall Google Cloud for Telecommunications proposition.  

VMware Looks to Assure DISH Wireless Open RAN Build. At MWC24, VMware, recently acquired by Broadcom Inc, unveiled that DISH Wireless has deployed VMware Telco Cloud Service Assurance across the Boost Wireless Network in a pilot production environment to deliver real-time network monitoring, assurance and automation, with the goal of providing a better 5G network and subscriber experience. We assess why the VMware Telco Cloud Service Assurance remote data collector service allows DISH Wireless the Network Operations Center (NOC) team to collect and analyze data from 20,000-plus cell sites. From our view, this is a critically important development for DISH Wireless to efficiently assure and scale its breakthrough Open RAN 5G network that is getting closer to offering more than 240 million Americans access to the latest in 5G connectivity technology and innovation.

TELUS Enlists HPE Servers to Complete Open RAN Mission. During MWC24, HPE announced it is working with TELUS, which is building Canada's first 5G Open RAN, by providing infrastructure across 3,000 sites. Once completed, the new TELUS Open RAN 5G network can provide instantaneously responsive connectivity which can enhance the customer experience with faster connectivity and mobile access. We examine why HPE ProLiant DL110 Gen11 servers, designed specifically for telco workloads, are ready to provide an open and flexible, virtualized foundation to deliver next-generation cellular connectivity to urban and rural Canadians. The servers provide Open RAN infrastructure to assist TELUS with the interoperability it needs by providing the foundation for DU implementations, which are responsible for preparing data for transmission across the 5G network.