Success story
Verizon gains a first-mover advantage by accelerating its 5G transformation
Overview
Today’s organizations’ new smart business models and services increasingly rely on ubiquitous connectivity. And Verizon wanted to be the first telecommunication operator to offer them a solution. For that, it needed to build an intelligent, adaptive, and service-aware network fast, which meant building and rolling out its 5G network at speed. The operator adopted Red Hat OpenShift to help build a scalable 5G core, update to a 5G RAN, and modernize applications and workflows. Verizon has begun converting its entire 143 million subscriber base to 5G.
The 5G transformation will enable ecosystem partners’ new edge computing and next-generation enterprise solutions and, in turn, provide a robust experience for their enterprise customers’ smart business models and services. For Verizon, it will open new revenue streams.
Challenge
Accelerate 5G for today’s connected, smart world
Industrial automation. Smart factories and cities. Business models based on connected devices. Public safety. Connected healthcare. These innovative use cases rely on ubiquitous connectivity with low latency and high throughput. And Verizon is driving 5G into its network to offer just that with its intelligent Edge Network (iEN) and Network as a Service (NaaS) strategy aiming to make its network the most intelligent, adaptive, and service-aware network on offer.
To implement these critical offers, Verizon embarked on a 5G transformation journey—a journey to build a standalone 5G core (the crux of its modern networking operations) and update to a 5G RAN (Radio Access Network). In addition to network elements, Verizon also needed to modernize applications and hundreds of complex workflows essential to a timely rollout of 5G. It needed a platform able to handle any disruption during the rollout—reboots, software updates, disaster recovery events—without losing data, to ensure an uninterrupted positive customer experience.
Members of Verizon’s partner ecosystem build innovative solutions that rely on Verizon’s 5G network. For Verizon to drive 5G adoption, the operator needed to build a foundation that could easily interoperate with its partner ecosystem, a challenge with solely closed code. After all, open source provides a common language for all members of an operator’s (such as Verizon) partner ecosystem. In doing so, it enables new integration and interoperability approaches that minimize complexity while driving innovation.
Solution
Build a scalable foundation with a collaborative partner
In 2016, Verizon made progress toward its 5G transformation journey when it adopted Red Hat OpenStack Platform for its 4G LTE network. Building on this success, Verizon decided to continue using an open source approach for its 5G transformation. Verizon sought out Red Hat as a collaborative technology partner to help in its transformation. To ensure quality assurance across the whole development chain, Red Hat embedded 50+ consultants within Verizon's teams - in lab environments, working with production operations and engineers.
Verizon built its 5G core incorporating Red Hat OpenShift with its 5G RAN using single node Red Hat OpenShift deployed on bare metal across 1000s of edge locations. Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management provides end-to-end management visibility and control. Teams can consistently manage the entire 5G core and RAN environment across locations from a single tool. While much of the 5G network transformation is on-premise, some supporting applications are hosted on AWS. Verizon is extending access to its network with partner AWS, allowing its containerized applications to be deployed on a Red Hat OpenShift cluster at the Verizon 5G edge.
To modernize its workflows, Verizon moved to a next-generation platform based on Red Hat OpenShift, and Red Hat Integration.
Business outcome
Open new opportunities as a leader in 5G innovation
The Red Hat OpenShift application platform powered by containers and Kubernetes allows Verizon to drive 5G and edge computing innovation faster. The 5G transformation will enable ecosystem partners’ new edge computing and next-generation solutions for enterprise customers while providing a robust, reliable customer experience. During the coming years, Verizon anticipates its first-mover advantage will open new revenue streams and deliver new customer growth.
The container platform from Red Hat is one of the critical components of 5G, the core network. Our entire infrastructure has been built on top of it.
Technically Speaking: A vested interest in 5G
Dive deeper into what makes 5G different from previous networks (and the role open source has to play in its development) with host Chris Wright and Srini Kalapala, Vice President of Technology and Supplier Strategy at Verizon.
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