| Efficient network resource utilization through cloud-based virtualization platform

| Ultra-low latency services and Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) platform are essential

| Cisco supports end-to-end 5G network automation through integrated solution delivery

Jean-Luc Valente (JL Valente), Vice President, SP Business Unit, Cloud Platform & Solutions Group, Cisco

As 5G enters the market in earnest, changes in core-stage switcher operations are being detected. Communication switches currently used by telecom operators are undergoing a transformation from existing hardware telecommunications equipment handling 4G LTE operations to software-based switches based on virtual machines.

This virtualization at the core stage is requiring new roles from edge communication equipment that has the most contact with mobile terminals. At this market restructuring toward 5G, Cisco held a briefing session on the 14th and unveiled MEC (Multi-Access Edge Computing), an integrated edge computing platform capable of various functions through its strengths in switching technology and virtualization technology.

Currently released VR and AR services provide content based on telecom operator IDCs and deliver video at 90 frames per second based on wired transmission, yet users still experience dizziness from ghosting caused by video lag.

Even with the introduction of 5G, which is 20 times faster than existing 4G LTE, if all content transmission methods are operated from servers within the IDC as before, these inconveniences will occur identically. Cisco states that such communication delays occur not only in entertainment like VR and AR, but also in robotics operating systems in smart factories, low-power tags, and logistics systems using RFID, and that faster services can be provided by applying MEC at a location closest to user devices.

The Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) announced by Cisco on the 14th is an edge computer equipped with virtual machines that assists in data processing at the edge for efficient data transmission and reception with the data center where the central server is located.

Cisco's caching-based MEC platform operation method

By using flexible usability and lightweight, software-based virtual machines, managing real-time necessary data at the edge stage and relaying only essential data to communicate with the central server, it minimizes communication delays on user devices. Such MEC can help minimize the cost required for initial 5G network construction while progressively building 5G SA (Stand Alone). Additionally, by providing platform-based solutions along with physical edge computers, it provides compatibility with various products that constitute edge data centers and has become an essential element in automating 5G network operations.

Cisco Vice President Valente stated that major German manufacturers such as Audi, Volkswagen, and BMW are already considering leasing 5G frequency bands to implement private 5G networks in specific areas together with MEC platforms.

However, considering frequency band leasing costs and interests with telecom operators, the progress will need further observation, and demand is expected to be primarily from large enterprises that prioritize security such as manufacturing plants and power plants. In Korea, Seoul Metro's construction of a dedicated ultra-high-speed proprietary information and communication network of 180 km in total under the name e-Seoul Net in 2003 is a similar example.

Jean-Luc Valente (JL Valente), Vice President, SP Business Unit, Cloud Platform & Solutions Group, Cisco, who led the announcement on the 14th, stated, "We are strengthening the development of solution technologies based on automated networks for rapid service response to meet the requirements of 5G telecom operators and users," and emphasized, "Cisco's solutions, based on virtualization, openness, and standardization, will be the optimal choice applicable to any 5G service."