Telecommunications operator A1 Austria (A1) has joined Nokia In cooperation with the company, we have completed what we claim is the industry’s first 5G. Edge cloud network slicing trial with Microsoft.
A1 is Austria’s leading telecommunications provider with approximately 5.1 million mobile customers and 1.9 million fixed access lines. A1 believes that by using edge cloud network slicing, he can deliver enterprise cloud applications to his mobile users over a high-capacity, secure, low-latency network.
The trial utilized Nokia’s 5G edge slicing solution integrated with Microsoft Azure managed edge computing on A1’s live commercial network in Vienna, Austria. The trial was run using Azure, which supports corporate private and public applications at the operator and enterprise edge. Azure Managed Edge Computing was deployed in a datacenter in Vienna, A1, with connectivity to the Austrian Azure region.
5G edge cloud network slicing solutions can be used by enterprises and industries across a wide range of use cases, including retail, media, utilities, healthcare, and transportation. This solution provides mobile operators with the opportunity to generate new revenue streams. During the trial, A1 demonstrated real-time HD video streaming by sending live camera feeds from multiple mobile devices using the Multicasting.io streaming mobile platform running on Azure edge infrastructure.
Nokia’s solution enables A1 to separate public internet and enterprise traffic while keeping critical business traffic local with 4G/5G core breakout for enterprise edge cloud applications. Network slicing was implemented across device, RAN, transport, core, and edge cloud applications. 5G edge slicing has enhanced the enterprise user experience for low-latency, high-bandwidth use cases with high network performance, quality security, and manageability.
The Nokia solution also offered mobile broadband VPN sliced in selected business areas such as campuses and urban environments. Scalable 5G edge slicing supports multiple enterprise VPN deployments using the same 4G/5G network. It can be used on all 4G/5G devices, including new UE route selection policy-enabled multi-slice smartphones, for a variety of applications.
Commenting on the completion of the trial, Marcus Grausum, CEO of A1, said: “We are excited to be leading the industry in deploying edge cloud network slicing with Nokia and Microsoft Azure. With this innovative solution, A1 will be able to deliver secure, integrated edge cloud network slicing over 4G/LTE and 5G networks. Deliver reliable, high-performance enterprise VPN services.
Silvia Candiani, vice president of telecommunications and media at Microsoft, added: “Our collaboration with A1 and Nokia, and the introduction of network slicing using Microsoft Azure, is a testament to our commitment to innovation. As we redefine connectivity, we are partnering with industry leaders like A1 and Nokia. , we also offer opportunities to leverage the large Microsoft ecosystem of enterprise developers and solution providers to drive new monetization initiatives.”
