Press Release – Spark New Zealand
Spark New Zealand, in collaboration with Ericsson and Red Hat, has successfully completed the deployment of the first network slice of the Sparks 5G standalone network in a lab environment, with the first data session completed in July.
Spark New Zealand, in collaboration with Ericsson and Red Hat, has successfully deployed the first network slice of Spark’s 5G standalone network into a lab environment, with the first data session completed in July.
This milestone brings Spark even closer to bringing next-generation 5G to Aotearoa, with all the transformative capabilities that an end-to-end 5G network can deliver, including network slicing and multi-access edge computing.
Network slicing allows mobile network operators to create virtual “slices” of their network. Each slice can be customized to meet specific needs, such as low latency for gamers, fast and resilient connections for businesses, or security-optimized connections for financial institutions such as hospitals and banks. In this way, users on the network can receive the specific type of network service they need without impacting other users using the same network, eliminating the need to serve everyone in the same way. This enables Spark to define differentiated service offerings that can be used to provide predictable service availability to any consumer and enterprise application, and create a host of potential new services and products for customers.
The data session, powered by the first slice of Spark’s 5G standalone network, saw the test team stream the latest season of Bridgerton in UHD on Netflix to find out whether Colin and Penelope will end up together. Spark aims to extend the solution to cater to a wider range of users and use cases with diverse requirements.
Spark achieved download speeds of nearly 1Gbps, far exceeding the speeds most customers experience with fiber optic broadband plans and demonstrating the competitiveness of wireless technology compared to wired.
Spark Technology Evolution Lead Michael Moloney said: “Spark has a strategic ambition to invest significantly in the network and infrastructure that underpins Aotearoa’s digital future, which is why we’re delighted to be one step closer to bringing the next evolution of 5G services to our customers, together with our partners Ericsson and RedHat. Once live, this high-performance network will provide our customers with lower latency, higher bandwidth and more resilient mobile, fixed wireless and IoT, enabling innovation that will transform the way New Zealanders connect and do business.”
The data session was powered by Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core solution running on Red Hat OpenShift Platform Plus, integrated with Spark’s 5G mobile, fixed wireless and IoT networks.
Ericsson’s solution will enable Spark to integrate its existing 4G network and new 5G core network onto one cloud-native platform, allowing Spark to serve customers using 5G standalone while maintaining compatibility with its current 4G network and services.
Emilio Romeo, head of New Zealand and Australia, Ericsson, says: “This data session marks a major step towards Spark’s vision of providing world-class 5G services in New Zealand. The introduction of Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core solution into Spark’s 5G network will enable a smooth transition to 5G and 5G Standalone, enabling Spark to build on its existing capabilities and investments to introduce new services for its customers.”
Ben Panik, vice president, Global Telco Center of Excellence at Red Hat, said, “Red Hat is excited to contribute to this achievement alongside Ericsson and Spark. This collaboration will enable Spark to deliver compelling services across 5G networks with enhanced 5G capabilities for both consumers and enterprises. With many years of collaboration with Ericsson and Spark, Red Hat is pleased to showcase the power of Red Hat OpenShift to improve the flexibility, reliability and scalability of a software-defined, cloud-native network and underlying systems for one of New Zealand’s largest wireless mobile networks.”
Content provided by scoop.co.nz
Original URL
