SK Telecom verifies service flexibility, operational efficiency, etc. at Deutsche Telekom

Cisco (www.cisco.com) officially announced a new solution for mobile cloud, the Ultra Services Platform, at the GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) currently being held in Barcelona, Spain.

The newly unveiled Cisco Ultra Service Platform has been verified and pilot-tested by SK Telecom in Korea and Deutsche Telekom in Germany. This platform is a comprehensive mobile service platform equipped with various functions, including virtualization systems, and is a centralized system capable of integrated operation and management of mobile clouds and diverse services across multiple countries. Equipped with automation, operational efficiency, and scalability, it supports operators in launching new services more quickly and deploying them efficiently. In addition, it is equipped with powerful performance, including a traffic processing capacity exceeding 2 terabytes per second and a simultaneous connection scale reaching as many as 20 million.

(Image: Cisco Blog)

Cisco Ultra Services Platform is based on Software Defined Networking (SDN) and separates the functions of the administrator and user domains. By increasing the proximity of user domain functions to the Remote Area Network (RAN) and enabling data to reach the Internet quickly, it reduces backhaul costs for flexible data transmission network allocation by 30–50%.

A complete mobile cloud service platform based on SDN
Support for simplification, automation, and acceleration

Furthermore, by centralizing the creation and control of services, the market entry of new services becomes simpler and faster, enabling the expectation of high revenue generation relative to time. In addition, services are automatically deployed through a simple user interface (UI), shortening the service launch interval from months to minutes and resulting in cost savings of over 30%. Through this, business operators are expected to reduce their Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by 35–53%.

In addition, the Cisco Ultra Service Platform is highly scalable and easily compatible with not only its own products but also third-party products. It can integrate over 100 virtual applications, ranging from Cisco's virtualized network functions portfolio to third-party solutions, and is applicable to public, private, and hybrid clouds. It can also be integrated with Cisco's SaaS (Software as a Service) products, such as Infinite Video and Spark. Its functionality and performance are further enhanced when linked with various Cisco solutions, including Packet Core, Policy, and Security.

In addition, by maximizing network slicing and CUPS (control and user plane separation) functions, which are considered key 5G technologies, it supports operators in providing end-to-end 5G services without latency.

Park Jin-hyo, Head of the Network Technology Institute at SK Telecom, who was the first in Korea to verify the Cisco Ultra Service Platform, stated, “SDN enhances network capabilities, enabling the provision of faster and more convenient services to corporate and individual customers.” "We expect to maximize customers' 'digitalization' experience thanks to Cisco's new integrated platform centered on SDN and mobile services," they stated.

Scott Yow, Executive Vice President of Cisco Ultra Service Platform, explained, “Distributed architecture SDN will offer limitless potential and opportunities for market expansion to providers of virtualization, SDN, and cloud services.”

In addition, Kelly Ahuja, Senior Vice President of Service Provider at Cisco, stated, “Through the Cisco Ultra Service Platform, tasks that previously took up to several days can now be processed in real time,” adding, “Telecommunications operators will be able to prepare for the 5G era with Cisco while creating innovative customer experiences.”