By Mike Robuck
Spirent keeps pace with 5G core, MEC and vRAN testing
The technology migration to cloud-native 5G core, MEC and virtualised RAN (vRAN) is requiring operators to deal with challenges they have not previously seen, all of which means test and measurement has taken on added importance, according to Jurrie van den Breekel, VP, Strategic Partnerships at Spirent Communications.
Speaking on today’s Conception to Execution: Optimizing the Testing Process session, the exec stated the migration to new network technologies require significant integration of products from multiple vendors, further multiplying the complexity.
He noted network function releases and infrastructure updates arrive asynchronously in a cloud-native environment from multiple vendors and open-source projects.
“The unpredictability of these updates is one significant challenge, while another is the need to test for deployment swiftly, to ensure networks and services stay up to date,” van den Breekel said.
He added operators were working toward continuous test and monitoring lifecycles as the basis for more straightforward, lower-cost operating environments “with automation everywhere”.
“On the business side, our research shows there is no single path to revenue emerging that most service providers will follow,” he said. “The upside is that by pursuing various new 5G service offerings aimed at incremental growth, and targeting efficiency programs, it is really driving the larger ecosystem to overcome these new integration hurdles.”???