At the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Monday announced AWS Outposts racks for high throughput, network-intensive workloads and AWS Outposts servers designed for Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) workloads.
These new offerings enable telecom service providers, also known as telcos, to extend AWS infrastructure and services to deploy on-premises network functions requiring low latency, high throughput, and real-time performance.
Both offerings will be generally available later this year to support hosting 5G Core User Plane Function (UPF), RAN Centralised Unit (CU), and RAN Distributed Unit (DU) workloads.
“With the new AWS Outposts offerings, telcos can now run their entire 5G network, including 5G Core and 5G RAN, on AWS cloud services. These innovations will allow faster network deployment, better price performance, and improved customer experiences,” David Brown, vice president of compute and networking at AWS, said.
The new AWS Outposts racks are built for high-speed 5G Core user plane and RAN workloads. Telecom companies can place workloads in different locations depending on speed, latency, and data traffic needs. The system uses 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors and a high-performance network fabric.
The company said the AWS Outposts racks offer scalability to handle increasing data traffic demands, ensuring telecom networks can expand efficiently. They provide enhanced security and performance through AWS’s Nitro System, delivering a reliable and protected environment.
Moreover, the racks support automated deployment and management with AWS Kubernetes services, streamlining operations for telecom providers.
Integrating with AWS analytics and monitoring tools also improves efficiency, allowing operators to monitor and optimise network performance seamlessly.
Notably, O2 Telefónica, a major telecom provider in Germany, is already using AWS for its cloud-based 5G core network.
Meanwhile, Mallikarjun Rao, chief technology and enterprise officer at O2 Telefónica, said, “We are proud to have the first fully cloud-native 5G core network deployed on AWS, serving a million subscribers. The new AWS Outposts racks align with our strategy to build the network of the future.”
The AWS Outposts servers are tailored for Cloud RAN workloads, helping telecom providers deploy virtualised 5G networks more efficiently. These servers have been developed in collaboration with Nokia, with plans to integrate additional RAN vendors in the future.
Why AWS Outposts?
The AWS Outposts servers offer simplified operations with a pre-integrated cloud infrastructure, reducing the complexity of deployment and management.
They enable faster 5G innovation by providing access to over 200 AWS cloud services, allowing telecom providers to develop and launch new features more efficiently. Powered by AWS Graviton3 processors, these servers deliver high-performance computing to meet the demanding requirements of 5G networks.
Moreover, they ensure seamless integration with RAN vendors, maintaining high radio performance and supporting the smooth deployment of Cloud RAN solutions.
Major telecom operators like Orange, and Du Network will begin testing these solutions later this year.
AWS’s new Outposts racks and servers are currently in preview and will be widely available later this year.
