Virgin Media O2 is the responsible for operational aspects of the 5G DRIVE initiative
The 5G DRIVE (Diversified oRAN Integration and Vendor Evaluation) project led by Virgin Media O2 and part-funded by the U.K.’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has completed its first trials.
In a release, Virgin Media O2 said that the consortium successfully trialed a new secure network connection capability for integrating private and public networks to form a network of networks.
The U.K. carrier noted that the ambition of 5G DRIVE project is to provide a path for tier 2 RAN vendors to enter the market with their products and solutions, supporting the U.K.’s diversification agenda. A key element of this is helping private networks integrate into mobile network operator’s networks, which is accomplished via the new SEPP N32 (c/f) roaming interface, a novel architecture for advanced private and public networks.
The first trials, completed in June at the wavemobile 5G test lab demonstrated significant progress, with a new solution that is simple, scalable and secure and already on the horizon. The team established an end-to-end test system, the first step to enabling private networks to join a new ‘network of networks,’ delivering carrier grade security to enterprise using tried and tested technologies.
The next phase of the program will see further trials to establish and test an ‘Ori’ containerized core network, a Cisco Cloud core as a service network, and further investigations into scaling aspects of private and public 5G roaming. The trials will culminate with several simulated corporate customers, with a 5G private networks deployed using Multiple Access Edge Computing.
David Owens, head of technical trials at Virgin Media O2 and 5G DRIVE project lead, said: “This is a significant first step in our mission to create new solutions that provide vendor agnostic integration capability, driving forward the secure connectivity for private networks, and helping to deliver on the promise of 5G “network of networks”. The ambition of the 5G DRIVE project is that it will provide a scalable solution, that doesn’t impact public networks and will deliver carrier grade security, something we are all incredibly excited about.”
“Simplification and scaling of private 5G solutions is critical to ensure we can harness the full potential of 5G. This is an exciting first step in defining how best to integrate private networks with established public systems, affordably, securely and at scale, providing a solid foundation for us to move on to the next stage of trials,” said Mark Grayson, Cisco fellow at Cisco.
Virgin Media O2 is the lead partner, responsible for operational aspects of 5G DRIVE, while wavemobile is the technical lead of the initiative. Under the terms of the initiative, Cisco will help scale the solution within the U.K. and to other markets
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