5G SA: Is it too late for the slow movers to monetise?
In this annual update to our Telco Cloud Deployment Tracker we focus on 5G core, vRAN/open RAN and cloud-native container orchestration platform deployments by telcos.
Tag Archives: telco cloud
Telco cloud deployment tracker Q1 2025: The various flavours of open RAN
Most large-scale deployments of virtualised RAN (vRAN) at Tier 1 telcos are currently based on single-vendor architecture. But operators are deploying vRAN in innovative ways that aim to preserve many open RAN benefits. This report looks at the current status of vRAN and open RAN deployments as well as the increasing awareness of the importance of deploying cloud-native RAN across multiple containers-as-a-service (CaaS) layers.
Telco Cloud Deployment Tracker Q2 2024: Is AWS winning in hyperscale telco cloud?
Telco cloud deployment activity slowed down in Q2 2024 with only 20 deployments added to the tracker, eight of which were completed in earlier years. The remaining 12 included five 5G NSA cores (four already launched) and three SA cores, all of which we expect to go live by the end of 2024. In this report we analyse the prospects for 5G SA including a deep-dive on the state of deployments on the public cloud.
Transforming telcos’ role through managed cloud services
To move from pipe to platform, telcos must take on a new role as a strategic enabler of their customers’ transformation. Drawing on a recent survey of 1,214 enterprises, this report explores how telcos can effectively evolve by offering managed cloud services to unlock longer-term B2B growth opportunities.
Telco Cloud Deployment Tracker Q4 2023: Year-in-review
2023 concluded with 87 telco cloud deployments in our tracker. In this edition, we present the most popular vendor stacks for vRAN/open RAN and the main rationales behind the 11 5G SA launches last year.
Multivendor telco cloud: Mapping the pathway to success
As operators embark on their telco cloud journeys, what should they look out for and what lessons can they learn from others? This report analyses the strategies and progress of four operators leading the way in telco cloud transformation and sheds light on the lessons learned from their initial deployments.
Telco cloud deployment tracker: What is happening with SD-WAN in 2023?
In this update, we look at the new deployments completed by 31 March 2023 or confirmed for completion by the end of 2023 or during 2024, and provide the usual update of telco cloud deployments including new data for 2023 and 2024. Our deep dive this quarter is on SD-WAN and SASE services.
MWC 2023: You are now in a new industry
We found subtle but significant shifts at the GSMA’s Mobile World Congress 2023 that show how the market’s need is changing to ‘connecting technologies’ rather than ‘connectivity’. This has deep implications for the industry and telcos in particular.
The state of telco transformation
Nine change stakeholders describe their experience of telco transformation, providing insights on the change process and learnings for others that are remodelling their organisations for the future.
Telco Cloud Deployment Tracker: Deploying NFs on public cloud without losing control
In this update, we present a review of telco cloud deployments for the whole of 2022 and discuss trends that will shape the year ahead. Fewer deployments than expected were completed in 2022. The main reason for this was a delay in previously announced 5G Standalone (SA) core roll-outs, for reasons we have analysed elsewhere. However, we expect these deployments to be largely completed in 2023.
The Telco Cloud Manifesto 2.0
Co-operation with hyperscalers can reap rewards – but only if telcos complete the hard work of cloudification first.
Telco Cloud Deployment Tracker: Will vRAN eclipse pure open RAN?
In this update, we present data and analysis on progress with deployments of vRAN and open RAN. It is fair to say that open RAN (virtualised AND disaggregated RAN) deployments have not happened at the pace that STL Partners and many others had forecast. In parallel, some very significant deployments and developments are occurring with vRAN (virtualised NOT disaggregated RAN). Is open RAN a networking ideal that is not yet, or never will be, deployed in its purest form?
Beating the crash: What’s coming?
There are troubling signals in the business environment. Consumer confidence is at an all-time low due to inflation, conflict, Covid and climate change. What are the consequences for telecoms, and what should telcos, vendors, policymakers and others in the ecosystem do?
In the first of two reports we examine the macro forces and outline three key steps to reshape priorities and the strategy agenda.
Telco Cloud Deployment Tracker: 5G core deep dive
In this update, we present granular data on the 5G core, tracking the progress of deployments of both Non-standalone (NSA) and Standalone (SA) network cores. We recorded 49 5G core deployments so far in 2022, 24 of which are SA launches.
Telco cloud: short-term pain, long-term gain
Telco cloud came with the promise of agility and returns. Our latest in-depth research examines the evidence, why telcos still believe it will deliver, and what needs to be done to achieve that.
Telco Cloud Deployment Tracker: Open RAN deep dive
In this update we present more granular data into the RAN to track the shift towards disaggregation across vendor ecosystems. It is still very early days with open RAN and vRAN, with 33 deployments in total, but we expect this to accelerate over the coming year.
VNFs on public cloud: Opportunity, not threat
More telcos are making deals to run their VNFs on the public cloud. Not much is live yet. But cloud hosting of network functions will support telcos in realising the benefits of cloud-native, and we believe telcos can safely go further and faster.