NTT Docomo achieves full core virtualisation

• Japan’s NTT Docomo recently switched off its 3G network
• This allowed it to pull the plug on its dedicated 3G core platform hardware
• Now it is reaping the benefits of a fully virtualised mobile core platform

Having switched off its 3G network last month and retired its legacy infrastructure, Japanese giant NTT Docomo says it has now achieved full virtualisation of its mobile core platform, which supports the delivery of voice and data services to more than 90 million end users. 

More than a decade after a group of major telcos, including Docomo’s parent NTT Group, helped to form the network functions virtualisation (NFV) group at ETSI with the aim of shifting telco operations away from proprietary systems to software-based applications running on standard servers, the operator noted in this announcement (in Japanese) that it has been able to evolve from a configuration that relied on dedicated hardware to one that “implements functions as software on general-purpose servers, resulting in a more flexible, stable and cost-effective communication infrastructure.” 

The operator says that achieving full core system virtualisation will deliver multiple benefits, most notably: 

Improved communication reliability: “Even in the event of equipment failure, auto-healing, which automatically detects abnormalities in the software and hardware constituting the network and restarts and reconfigures functions on another healthy virtual resource, is immediately executed across the entire core network. This shortens the period of single-system operation and contributes to the provision of stable communication services.”

Improved speed ​​of equipment capacity expansion: “By sharing general-purpose hardware across multiple systems, it becomes possible to flexibly utilise available resources from the integrated infrastructure’s resource pool. This shortens the time required to secure the equipment capacity needed when launching new services or experiencing traffic increases. Furthermore, an auto-scaling function becomes available that automatically expands network equipment capacity in the event of natural disasters, improving connectivity.”

Improved operational efficiency and reducing environmental impact: “By consolidating general-purpose servers and utilising the latest hardware, it becomes possible to reduce equipment installation space and power consumption, contributing to both improved operational efficiency and reduced environmental impact.”

The operator noted that its key vendor partners that have helped it to achieve full core virtualisation, and with which it has promoted international standardisation activities in ETSI NFV and 3GPP, include Cisco Systems, Dell Technologies, NEC and Ericsson. 

Now NTT Docomo will “continue to utilise the latest cloud technologies to automate equipment construction, streamline operations and reduce equipment costs, while also promoting the construction of a hybrid core network that utilises both on-premises and public cloud infrastructure.”

NTT Docomo’s efforts to virtualise its network functions began as long ago as 2005, but its first successful proof of concept was conducted in 2014, followed by the initial deployment of evolved packet core (EPC) software (4G core) from multiple vendors on an integrated IT platform in 2016.  

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV