5G Open Innovation Lab Teams with F5, GXC, and Spirent Communications to Lay the Groundwork for Faster Deployment of Private Mobile Networks

New collaboration delivers improved performance for private cellular networks in hard-to-reach locations

5G Open Innovation Lab (5G OI Lab) along with ecosystem partners F5, GXC and Spirent Communications announced a new collaboration to showcase a leading-edge enterprise Private Mobile Network (PMN) solution that not only delivers PMNs in hard-to-reach locations, but offers greater security, control, and resilience with improvements to operational costs.

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As 5G infrastructure becomes more mainstream, enterprises and organizations are subsequently deploying more private networks and telco clouds into strategic locations to leverage newly available connectivity, lower latency, and agility. The consistent throughput and capacity on these PMNs bring the promise of 5G to revenue-driven use cases such as IoT and network slicing, while being mindful that security must expand accordingly beyond legacy policies and be thoroughly tested. Especially in edge use cases, one of the requirements most in demand is the need for local breakout to route traffic to as part of a Mobile Edge Compute (MEC) infrastructure or hosted within a data center.

F5, a hybrid and multi-cloud application services and security company, deployed carrier-grade BIG-IP Virtual Editions. These security functions were consolidated with an N6/SGi-LAN solution adding another layer of speed and security at the network level. Critical functions such as Firewall, DDoS, Secure DNS, CGNAT, TCP and Video Optimization with this consolidated N6 configuration are already running in high-volume Tier 1 providers.

GXC, a NaaS communications early-stage tech company which is part of the 5G OI Lab ecosystem, contributed their unique distributed mesh configuration for easier and faster deployment of a private network while providing full coverage and capacity of a cellular network.

This collaboration was validated using Spirent’s Landslide test and emulation platform. The multinational telecom testing company’s solution provided device and RAN emulation to create a diversity of traffic flows across multiple data networks through the 5G core which is monitored and managed by F5 behind the UPF. This delivers UE QoS, Network Slice Management, and offers multi-application monitoring at scale to validate the benefits of a packet core and N6 LAN solution working in tandem in a controlled production environment.

Finally, the entire solution was pressure-tested through technology made available through the 5G OI Lab and its enterprise and operator partners deployed with GXC’s ONYX Portal.

How the solution works:

-F5’s BIG-IP Virtual Editions will optimize these traffic flows between the 5GC and the content network helping to enable end-to-end visibility of user activity and security against unwarranted traffic ingress.

-Spirent’s Landslide AMF Nodal application will bring real-world traffic modelling into the 5G OI Lab to emulate 5G Mobile subscribers and 5G Access Nodes (gNBs) performing a realistic distribution of traffic flows across slices and DNNs towards emulated content servers supported by the core.

GXC, previously known as GenXComm, is an Austin, Texas-based company that provides groundbreaking technology for enterprise 5G networks, based on a cellular mesh architecture. This private network platform provides high levels of resiliency, flexible deployments, strong coverage in hard-to-reach areas, and a powerful distributed application platform. The company was founded in 2016 to commercialize years of research and development in interference technology out of the University of Texas at Austin. Enabling full-duplex, high-speed communication, GXC’s powerful technology has the capacity to double the world’s available frequency spectrum.

Spirent Communications plc. (LSE: SPT) is a leading global provider of automated test and assurance solutions for networks, cybersecurity, and positioning. The company provides innovative products, services and managed solutions that address the test, assurance, and automation challenges of a new generation of technologies, including 5G, cloud, autonomous vehicles and beyond. From the lab to the real world, Spirent helps companies deliver on their promise to their customers of a new generation of connected devices and technologies.

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The 5G Open Innovation Lab is a new global innovation ecosystem that brings together multi-stage startups, enterprise and global technology platforms and investors to connect and collaborate on developing disruptive new enterprise technologies and solutions that capitalize on the power of edge computing connected to public and private 5G networks.

In just four years, the Lab has attracted a roster of world-class corporate and industry partners including Accenture, Amdocs, Avanade, Dell Technologies, Deloitte, Ericsson, F5, GAF (Standard Industries), Intel, Microsoft, Nokia, Palo Alto Networks, SK Telecom, Spirent, T-Mobile and VMware as well as 101 multi-stage enterprise startups who have collectively raised $1.641B of venture capital. Through 5G OI Lab’s unique model of open collaborative innovation, corporate partners work directly with ecosystem startups to accelerate commercialization through proof of concept, go-to-market, and other engagements and opportunities.

F5 and BIG-IP are trademarks, service marks, or tradenames of F5, Inc., in the U.S. and other countries. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. The use of the words “partner,” “partnership,” or “joint” does not imply a legal partnership relationship between F5 and any other company.

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