MNO Openness: the Next Business Opportunity

RESEARCH ASST. PROF. HARILAOS KOUMARAS NAT IO NA L CENT ER F O R SCIENT IF IC R ESEA R CH “DEMO K R ITO S”, INST IT UT E O F INF O R MAT ICS A ND T ELECO MMUNICAT IO NS, AT H ENS, G R EECE

Business Opportunity is born now in 5G… and maturing in 6G

Network evolution toward the 5G system

• Many communications service providers worldwide have already laid out 5G network launch plans.

• The industry is busy accelerating 5G development and deployment

• Stakeholders are planning on 5G capabilities promises.

Telecommunications (telco) providers are undergoing a business transformation, replacing traditional network infrastructure with off-

the-shelf servers to achieve open, cost-effective, scalable, and programmable networks.

5G Programmability: A Value Proposition for 6G

• One of the keys to success for 5G and B5G systems is network programmability.

• 5G Network Programmability includes the ability to abstract and expose internal core network capabilities a set of instructions via APIs, and support use-case specific requirements

• With MNO APIs exposure, a new frontier for business innovation in telecom starts to surge in 5G and will mature in B5G/6G.

Third party application developers will focus on new services/applications, while MNOs will

focus on a new dimension of experience called “developer experience” and increase its position

in the OTT value chain.Use cases are shifting demand for different network performance characteristics.Image Source: www.rcrwireless.com

MNOs disrupt the mobile app market in 5G/B5Gand will fully transform it with the advent of 6G

Source: Ericsson

Tech enablers of 5G programmability

• 1. Service-based architecture of the core network

• 2. Cloud native implementation and microservices architecture of the mobile core network

• 3. Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) approach in maintaining the core system and its ecosystem

1. Service-based architecture: Business APIs exposedThe 3GPP Service-Based Architecture (SBA) for 5GC specifies a functional architecture and standardized interfaces (5GC control plane network functions (NFs) expose SBIs).

The NFs register their services in the NEF and services can then be discovered by other NFs. This enables a flexible deployment, where every NF allows the other authorized NFs to access the services, which provides tremendous possibilities for external third parties to use the services and capabilities provided by 5GC.

And although implementation is the choice of the operator or vendor, in practice, the expectation is that 5GC will be deployed on software-defined infrastructure.

2. Cloud native and microservices: Robust, Reliable, Scalable and Flexible for introducing new servicesBy following cloud native implementation, 5GC can fully deliver the advantages of cloud technologies and be ultra-robust, reliable, scalable and flexible in terms of extension and short TTM, which enables fast, low-cost introduction of new services, automation and optimized resource utilization.

In broad terms, this means 5GC implementations that use microservices, containers, centralized orchestration, open APIs, service meshes, and so on.

All the necessary ingredients to foster network programmability and network-driven mobile apps.

Source: Ericsson

3. Continuous Integration andContinuous Delivery (CI/CD) approach• Continuous delivery and deployment enables

deployment of new services and APIs with the speed required by the market, fueling innovation and programmability.

• Adopting a CI/CD approach enabled by DevOps software development methodology is another key asset for network programmability, enabling flexible TTM and automated life cycle management for Network and Service APIs.

• By leveraging CI/CD, service providers can deliver new APIs when they are requested by the market, enabling them to also play the role of business innovator with a fast TTM.

• The cost associated with managing the life cycle of multiple APIs in a portfolio is also reduced, thanks to automated tools and controls.

European Platforms for 5G Vertical Experimentation

• 5GENESIS Facility:Five 5G Testbeds in Europe

• 5GENESIS will evaluate 5G KPIs for various 5G use cases and new services, in both controlled set-ups and large-scale events.

• 5GENESIS has built the Open5GENESIS Suite that provides a common API for testing and experimentation of new services by vertical industries

• Other European testbeds include 5G-EVE and 5G-VINNI

3GPP-SA6 activities towards business APIs 1/3

• Common API Framework (CAPIF)• In Rel. 15 CAPIF was introduced to enable a unified Northbound API framework

across 3GPP network functions, and to ensure that there is a single and harmonized approach for their development (Refer to 3GPP TS 23.222, TS 33.122 and TS 29.222).

• The CAPIF framework has evolved in Release 16 (eCAPIF), to bring in key features such as support for 3rd party domains i.e. to allow 3rd party API providers to leverage the CAPIF framework, the support for interconnection between two CAPIF providers

3GPP-SA6 activities towards business APIs 2/3

• SEAL - Service Enabler Architecture Layer for Verticals• In Release 16, SEAL has been introduced to support vertical applications (e.g. V2X

applications).

• 3GPP TS 23.434 specifies application plane and signalling plane entities for application-enabling services (e.g. group management, configuration management, location management, identity/key management, network resource management); that can be reused across vertical applications.

• As we progress further with new verticals, SEAL is expected to evolve to support more common capabilities based on their requirements.

3GPP-SA6 activities towards business APIs 3/3

• 3GPP Release 17 Studies are underway in Rel-17 further expanding the horizon of new vertical applications within 3GPP:

• FS_UASAPP - Application layer support for Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)

• FS_FFAPP - Application layer support for Factories of the Future

• FS_eV2XAPP - Application layer support for V2X services

Bringing it all togetherIllustration of SA6 initiatives to enable 5G vertical applications

Conclusion

• 5G transforms the business role of MNOs to vertical service enablers

• SA6 has established a good momentum on vertical applications design and development with 5G native integration

• 5G creates the path towards the MNO-openness and creation of a new market and community of third-party developers

5G is the path in this business transformation… 6G will be the destination…

Thank you

Dr. Harilaos Koumaras

Linkedin: /koumarasTwitter: @hkoumaras