Wind Tre, which serves over 32 million mobile and fixed broadband customer lines in Italy, has selected Ericsson to virtualize its core network as part of the evolution of its network to 5G Core.
Ericsson will supply its core network and Network Functions Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVi) solution, enabling the fast introduction of new services and providing full-service continuity. The five-year contract, which gets underway during the Q2 2018, includes the delivery of a self-contained project to deploy a virtualized core network and orchestration capabilities according to European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) open source NFV Management and Orchestration (MANO). The solution includes Ericsson Orchestrator, the virtual infrastructure manager Ericsson Cloud Execution Environment based on OpenStack, Ericsson Cloud SDN and software-defined infrastructure based on Ericsson HDS 8000. Ericsson will also be the prime system integrator and provide support services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Benoit Hanssen, Chief Technology Officer Wind Tre, says: “This is another big step in the journey that Wind Tre is making to provide the best quality network and high value services to our customers. We are transforming to be ready for the digital revolution that 5G and IoT will bring. We are pleased to partner with Ericsson on this important deal which secures a deep knowledge of the existing technology and will provide a state-of-the-art virtualized network.”
The contract encompasses Ericsson’s virtual EPC, virtual IMS and virtual UDC (User Data Consolidation). They will be deployed on Ericsson´s proven system verified NFVi solution which aligns with the ETSI NFV Architectural Framework and the ETSI Management and Orchestration (MANO) architecture.
