Telco cloud continues to be deployed worldwide. A wave of recent deployments has been driven by 5G launches, and multiple factors may soon drive large-scale open RAN deployments

Telco Cloud deployments on track for growth again in 2020

Ninth update of the ‘Telco Cloud Tracker’: from ‘NFV’ to ‘telco cloud’

This report accompanies the ninth release of STL Partners’ ‘Telco Cloud Tracker’ database. This contains data on deployments of NFV (Network Functions Virtualisation), SDN (Software Defined Networking) and cloud-native network functions (CNFs) in the networks of the leading telcos worldwide. This analytical report focuses on trends in Europe, set in global context.

For this update and hereafter, we have changed the name of the database from ‘NFV Deployment Tracker’ to ‘Telco Cloud Tracker’. The name change reflects STL Partners’ new focus on ‘Telco Cloud’ as both a research stream and consultancy practice. But the change also corresponds to the fact that the telecoms industry has now embarked on the second phase of its journey towards more integrally software-based networks – the first phase of which went under the banner of ‘NFV’. This journey is not just about a migration towards ‘software in general’, but cloud-native software: based on design principles developed by the cloud industry, which have the potential to bring cloud-scale economics, programmability and automation to connectivity and connectivity-dependent services.

The Tracker database is provided as an interactive Excel tool containing line-by-line analysis of more than 760 individual deployments of NFV, SDN and CNFs, which can be used to drill down on trends by company and region.

We will produce further research and reports on different aspects of cloud-native software and its impact over the coming months.

Growth in 5G core offset by declines in other areas

Telco cloud deployments so far

After a slight drop in the overall number of deployments in 2019, 2020 is set to be a year of modest growth, as is illustrated by the figure below:

Total number of deployments worldwide, 2014 to July 2020

Source: STL Partners

The data for 2020 is split up into completed, ‘pending’ and estimated additional deployments. We have recorded 63 completed deployments between January and July 2020. Pending deployments (totalling 72) are those previously announced that we are expecting to be completed during 2020 but which – to our knowledge – had not yet gone live in the commercial network by the end of July. The estimated additional deployments are derived from extrapolating to the full year 2020 from the total of completed implementations in the first seven months. This results in around 45 further deployments. On this basis, the total for the year as a whole would reach around 180 deployments: just above the previous record year of 2018 (178).

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Table of Contents

• Executive Summary
• Introduction: Telco cloud deployments on track for growth again in 2020
  • Ninth update of the ‘Telco Cloud Tracker’: from ‘NFV’ to ‘telco cloud’
  • Scope and content of the Tracker
• 5G core drives new growth in 2020
  • Deployments are on the rise again
  • Growth has been consistent across almost all regions
  • Europe also on track to maintain its record of year-on-year growth
  • Deployments in Europe are still dominated by the major players, but smaller telcos are catching up
  • Vendors: Ericsson in close second place behind Cisco owing to strong presence in mobile core
• Open RAN at a TIPping point in Europe
  • European telcos are playing a leading role in open RAN
• Conclusion: Growth being driven by 5G – with open RAN waiting in the wings
  • Worldwide surge in NSA 5G core deployments
  • NSA 5GC is now nearly the leading VNF overall in Europe
  • … with cloud-native, SA 5GC coming down the pipeline
  • … and waiting in the wings: open RAN
  • These overlapping waves of innovation will make telco cloud mainstream

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