Orange is launching the first end-to-end autonomous 5G experimental network in Europe in France to see the benefits that cloud, artificial intelligence and new radio technologies can have on its operation and customer experience. As the industry moves towards 5G, mobile operators are increasingly moving infrastructure and applications from on-premises environments to the cloud. Some of the benefits are financial (cloud infrastructure is more efficient), but virtualization of key network functions and data aggregation will make it faster and easier to deploy new services, adapt to market trends, and enable automation .
Orange 5G AI
Cloud-based backbone networks will also be essential to support some of the most revolutionary 5G applications, such as virtual reality (VR) and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), which rely on ultra-low latency. Orange's experimental network will perform all of its key functions from the cloud and the hope is that it will essentially run itself, automatically provisioning services, using data to optimize infrastructure and automatically fixing any problems. The operator will see how a fully cloud 'zero touch' network works in the real world, unencumbered by 'legacy' systems, while the use of OpenRAN will provide insight into how open network innovations can coexist with other technologies. The network will first be rolled out in the north-western town of Lannion before expanding to other locations in 2022. This extension will increase the number of users and also allow Orange to test key 5G services such as dynamic network splitting. network. “Our ambition is to prepare Orange for the operator of tomorrow by building more resilient and self-adaptive networks that offer the best quality of service in every situation,” said Michaël Trabbia, Orange's Director of Technology and Innovation. “This experimental network represents an important step in our way of implementing and deploying Open RAN and AI technologies to prepare on-demand connectivity and contactless carrier capabilities. "Vendors come from across the industry, with Mavenir providing the OpenRAN technology and Casa Systems responsible for the core network. HPE will offer cloud-based subscriber data management capabilities, while Dell will provide hardware and Xiaomi devices." This is a major announcement from Orange on several fronts: first, the fully cloud-based aspect, which not only indicates Orange's roadmap towards fully automated, software-based, and networked 'AI, but also its commitment to Open RAN principles of diversity from the few notable absences of the named technology partners," explained Richard Webb, director of network infrastructure at CCS Insight. "Second, this type of project is essential not only to provide operators like Orange a better understanding of how Open RAN solutions interact, but also how software-defined, cloud-based intelligent networks are transforming the world. their own operations. " "This is a standalone 5G network, considered by many to be the 'true version' of 5G where a richer service environment can be fully realized. Although this experimental network is small to begin with, it could provide evidence points for improve user experiences."