Cisco has announced that its “5G Now” portfolio for service providers is all set. The portfolio has launched with an intention to provide an array of hardware solutions and associated services for the service providers. The announcement was made a week prior to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. At this event, lots of service providers would be on a lookout for new ways to tackle the ever-growing customer data demands and intense pricing pressure.
Cisco is well-known for producing networking gear that routes big volumes of data. With “5G Now,” the Silicon Valley Company will be providing key features like the IP packet core, an access solution combining cable, fibre, Wi-Fi, and radio solutions. The portfolio also offers the capacity to manage workloads between different clouds and offer client services like the enterprise-focused Cisco Spark and IoT solution Cisco Jasper via the network and built-in security.
Yvette Kanouff, GM of Cisco’s Service Provider Business, said: “4G was about buying connectivity, and 5G is about buying experiences. 5G creates a new environment for service creation, giving operators what they need to deliver next-level entertainment experiences. Only Cisco has the services, infrastructure and automation portfolio to support our global customers with their 5G initiatives.”
Through this attempt, Cisco is trying to get a bigger share of the mobile market by supporting these alternative providers instead of manufacturing the radio access equipment itself.
As of now, the company is working with more than 20 network operators who are committed to delivering faster phones and video, connected cars, and internet-connected industrial sensors over the next ten years.
The vendors who have confirmed their participation in this venture are Altiostar, Aricent, Intel, Mavenir, Phazr, Red Hat, and Tech Mahindra. These companies will perform the testing, validation, proof of concept, and the roadmaps for vRan solutions. Reliance Jio, an Indian operator, is also supporting this effort.
Kanouff stated, “We believe it is an ideal time to align and collaborate on these issues to deliver innovative solutions ready for commercial deployment. Together with the ecosystem parties, we’re making leaps forward in developing a customer-centric ecosystem focused on accelerating innovation and enabling new business models to dramatically lower costs, add capacity and improve network performance.”
