Orange acquires cloud-native specialist to boost sovereign 5G offering

• Orange is buying cloud-native software platform specialist Dome
• It enables the deployment of secure, resilient sovereign 5G networks
• The Dome team will be integrated into Orange Business

Orange has agreed a deal to acquire the Dome cloud-native software unit of French firm Obvios for an undisclosed amount in a move that strengthens the sovereign private 5G portfolio of Orange Business, the telco’s enterprise services division.

Dome’s cloud-native 5G core software platform supports the deployment of secure, resilient sovereign communications systems for businesses and organisations operating in critical environments. It leverages a centralised cloud-based 5G core control plane that connects to dedicated user plane and radio access network (RAN) equipment installed at the enterprise user’s premises.

The deal will see the 18-strong Dome development team integrated into the Defense and Security unit set up by Orange Business a year ago. They will remain based in their original employment areas of Rennes and Lannion, and work alongside a team of around 100 mobile network experts who make up the Orange International Networks tech division, TelecomTV can reveal. The French operator said the acquisition will strengthen its offering for critical infrastructure providers.

“This acquisition marks a strategic milestone in strengthening and specialising our offerings and expertise, particularly in hybrid network solutions,” declared Nassima Auvray, head of the Defense & Security business unit at Orange Business. “It accelerates our development in private 5G, enabling us to deliver sovereign, innovative solutions tailored to the security and operational needs of defence and critical infrastructure operators in Europe,” she added.

Sovereign services are increasingly central to telecom operators’ strategies, as governments and enterprises seek the ability to manage infrastructure and data within geographical or regional borders. During its investors day, held in February, Orange outlined its plans for sovereign services as part of its Trust the Future strategy. In announcing the deal, the French operator said Dome “underscores” this plan and expands Orange’s capabilities to deliver sovereign private AI solutions.

Orange highlighted several solutions for the Dome technology, including: Supporting drone and autonomous operations; connectivity for military bases and tactical networks in remote or contested areas; surveillance systems at ports and airports; and real-time monitoring of critical infrastructure across enterprise sectors, such as energy or transport.

The Dome technology enables the deployment of a secure, deployable private 5G core that supports organisations looking to build and operate their own independent mobile networks alongside public infrastructure. This is especially important in critical environments, which often require low latency, high resilience and full operational control.

Orange was already working with Obvios through the French arm of the European IPCEI ME/CT project (Important Project of Common European Interest on Microelectronics and Information Technology), which aims to pave the way for future 5G use cases. The French operator acts as a coordinator for the initiative, bringing together academic and industrial partners to explore new avenues for 5G.

The main objective of the French part of the project is to create a cloud platform, based on the Linux Foundation’s Sylva software stack, that enables testing, automating and integrating innovations for the virtualised and modular networks of the future. The Dome solution was deployed and automated on the Sylva platform, as Orange explained in this blog.

- James Pearce, Editor, TelecomTV