5G NC operates independently of the LTE network and makes new features available. 5G NC was developed with a new service-based architecture that introduces software features, such as Control and User Planes Separation, Network Slicing and Virtualized Network Functions (VNF) deployed on containers. This is the first trial of 5G NC that implements VNFs based on 3GPP standards-compliant, service-based architecture, Samsung said.
“Based on this trial, SK Telecom has successfully verified the essential core network technologies for 5G commercialization,” said Park Jin-hyo, EVP and head of ICT R&D Center at SK Telecom. “The completion of 5G NC with SK Telecom is a significant step towards 5G commercialization,” said Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, EVP and head of R&D, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “The tests have shown how fast, flexible, efficient and user-centric the network can become with Next-Generation Core”, he added.
SK Telecom and Samsung have jointly submitted more than 30 5G NC contributions to 3GPP standardization, and have completed several 5G NC proof-of-concept activities. The two companies are collaborating to develop and verify 5G NC solutions, expected to be deployed in 2019.
