Preparing for 5G Advancement and Seeking Cost Reduction Methods Through Transition to NFV-Based Solutions

Wind River announced that Contela, a mobile network solution specialist, has adopted Wind River’s NFV infrastructure solution, Wind River Titanium Cloud, and has successfully completed an NFV Proof of Concept (PoC) program for LoRa IoT services.

Long Range Radio (LoRa) IoT networks, equipped with both long-range capabilities and low power consumption, are driving the rise of connected smart cities worldwide. This is because IoT applications provide new value and convenience by addressing critical challenges facing cities, such as transportation, security, and pollution.

With the advent of the IoT era, Contella recently established a LoRa network across the country in partnership with SK Telecom, and based on this, SK Telecom was able to develop various commercial IoT services such as automatic metering, location tracking, and remote monitoring. Contella sought to find a way to reduce costs while preparing for the advancement to 5G by transitioning to an NFV-based solution to further advance its LoRa network solution.

As high availability, ease of use, and compatibility with other VNFs were critical for the adoption of NFV, Contella selected Wind River’s carrier-grade NFV infrastructure solutions, Titanium Core and Titanium Edge, for its first NFV Proof of Concept (PoC) project.

Along with this, openness was also an important consideration, as it allows for avoiding the risk of vendor lock-in and further reducing costs. In addition, Wind River’s provision of the industry’s broadest range of pre-certified solutions through the Titanium Cloud ecosystem was also cited as a decisive factor.

Contella's NFV proof-of-concept project achieved its desired return on investment (ROI) by utilizing Wind River Titanium Cloud to reduce total development time by six months and implement a higher-quality product at a lower cost. Based on this proof, they expect to reduce capital expenditure and operating costs while improving network performance. Due to these positive results, Contella is utilizing Titanium Cloud as an NFV solution for LoRa IoT services, and the expansion to NFV-based systems is planned to be gradually implemented across the entire LoRa IoT network system.

Choi Woo-young, Director of Network Business at Wind River Korea, said, “Contella is paying close attention to the potential of NFV as it continues to develop a nationwide LoRa network with SK Telecom and is pursuing connected smart service projects across major cities in Korea. Wind River plans to continue close cooperation with both companies to journey together toward the IoT era.”