Ericsson has announced a new network programmability tool: 5G Core Policy Studio, for communications service providers. The studio, which handles the central management of all core network policies and is fully integrated with Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core, will allow easier capture of 5G revenue.
5G Core Policy Studio is a central provisioning engine that works at the core of the network, allowing control of all policies that manage different 5G (and 4G) services.
The tool enables flexible creation of tailored advanced data communication services and automates the configuration of network policies end-to-end. The tool also allows granular service configuration within network slices for differentiation, so communications service providers will be able tailor their offerings to specific user and network needs.
More 5G revenue
Ericsson says that their testing shows that the tool can deliver savings of up to 70 percent in policy configuration operational expenditures, by simplifying the design and configuration activities – compared to similar network configuration execution without the tool.
“Working at the core of 5G evolution, we see that 5G is a software game. Through our software, we make networks smarter because that in turn enables smart business. Smart networks are key for enabling communications service providers to offer customized services to consumers and enterprises,” said Monica Zethzon, Head of Solution Area Cloud Packet Core, Ericsson.
“We see that 5G is a software game.”
Monica Zethzon, Ericsson.
Zethzon continued: “With our 5G Core Policy Studio, they will be able to provide tailored connectivity services across their customer base. Ericsson’s 5G Core Policy Studio is a network programmability tool to adapt service performance depending on conditions such as the type of subscription, time of day, service area or device location.”
Use Cases
The tool will allow service providers to benefit from a host of new 5G uses cases, such as the ability to set a 5G Gold data plan for consumers. In this case, better quality-of-service can be assigned to subscribers with a 5G Gold data plan when accessing 5G networks and if consuming less than 20GB of data.
Using 5G Core Policy Studio, service providers will be able to restrict subscribers’ access to the network only from their home location and through a dedicated FWA slice. They will be able to navigate at high 5G speed until reaching the limit of their data plan – afterwards quality-of-service will be drastically reduced.
An example of how 5G Core Policy Studio can offer customised connectivity for enterprises is dedicating a low-latency network slice. In a robotics enterprise, this could be to handle machinery through remote controllers with very high accuracy. Here access to the slice is restricted to specific user’s location and working hours. If the specified conditions are not matched, an SMS notification message is sent to the enterprise.
Speeding Innovation
Andy Hicks, Principal Analyst, GlobalData, said: “Ericsson 5G Core Policy Studio builds on the company’s strengths in converged policy control and feature support by introducing unified control of all policy enforcement mechanisms as well a new network programmability tool. GlobalData has assigned Ericsson’s policy control products a Leader ranking. Integrated with these products, Ericsson 5G Core Policy Studio should help operators to monetize 4G and 5G services and network slices, by speeding innovation and adjusting network service characteristics both granularly and dynamically.”
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