NEC develops mobile core solution for operating on Amazon Web Services

NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) has developed a mobile core solution for the cloud that can now can be operated on Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform.

This highly reliable solution is based on NEC's virtualized mobile core product, which is currently being used by telecommunications carriers, and is configured as a mobile core solution that can operate in both on-premises and AWS environments. NEC plans to begin offering this solution for telecom carriers within fiscal 2019 in preparation for the 5G era.

In the future, 5G is expected to be used as a mobile network for communications infrastructure for industrial systems. For such applications, the core network needs to quickly meet a wide variety of communication data demands, which requires the design and construction of networks that are flexible, rapid, and efficient.

The mobile core solutions that NEC provides for AWS will capitalize on both NEC's existing product lineup, which has a strong track record of operating in Japan's mobile core network, as well as the merits of AWS, which is widely used by a vast range of companies. As a result, business users, such as those in the industrial system field, will have access to mobile networks that combine the high reliability and high quality required by telecom carrier networks, with the flexibility, agility and efficiency of the cloud.

Furthermore, NEC is also planning to implement the solution for the AWS in the 5GC (5GCore Network). By combining NEC’s expertise in building large-scale, mission-critical network infrastructure and its expertise in system construction and service provision in various industries, NEC will provide mobile core networks as a highly efficient, multi-functional social and industrial infrastructure.

Primary features of this solution include the following:

NEC will provide this solution for mobile networks, such as internal office networks and the IoT for companies, as it aims for sales related to this solution of 10 billion yen by the end of FY2021.

"Amazon Web Services welcomes NEC's development and provision of cloud-based, native mobile core solutions operated on AWS," said Muneyuki Watanabe, Director, Strategic Alliance and Channel, Amazon Web Services Japan Co., Ltd. "We believe that high-speed, high-capacity fifth-generation communications (5G) are expected to grow rapidly and that the clouds that support these services will become increasingly important for the various services that meet 5G. By providing secure, highly usable, flexible, low-cost AWS services and technical support, such as consulting, we are able to play a part in NEC's solution development and contribute to 5G businesses in various areas that require high-speed networks."

"NEC has an accomplished history of providing high-quality, highly reliable mobile core solutions for telecom carriers," said Toshiya Tsuji, Senior Vice President, NEC. "I am pleased to be able to operate this mobile core solution on AWS, which is widely used by many companies. In the 5G era, mobile core networks are becoming increasingly important as an industrial foundation, and we believe it will be necessary to swiftly provide networks suitable for a variety of communication data in response to various business needs. NEC will utilize the benefits of AWS to promote the construction of flexible, fast, and efficient networks and support the construction of mobile networks in the industrial systems field."

Under NEC’s Mid-term Management Plan 2020, which covers the three-year period up to fiscal 2020, NEC is promoting services in new fields by leveraging its strengths in network technologies and solutions. Through this core mobile solution, NEC will flexibly utilize its networks and accelerate the provision of "NEC Smart Connectivity," which leverages the strengths of NEC’s network technologies and solutions to realize new services.