Virtualization

The focus of our next Release will be the virtualization of the small cell layer. Network function virtualization is an industry initiative that moves functions from specialized hardware to standard data center infrastructure. Virtualization in the radio access network is often referred to as Cloud-RAN and operators need to understand how small cells fit into the Cloud-RAN story.
We believe there will be better ROI if operators can plan virtualization across the entire HetNet, including small cells, rather than as a separate exercise. This work stream will consider the impact of such an approach on everything from network architecture to the business case.

Our first output on the subject has been published as part of Release Five.

You can watch Mark Grayson’s webinar on Network Function Virtualization here.