• VodafoneThree has put an Ericsson cloud-native core into service with designed packet capacity of 9Tbps as the merged UK operator continues integrating its networks
  • The common core can support network slicing and other differentiated services, but enterprise performance still depends on radio, transport and service configuration

The fact

VodafoneThree and Ericsson said on 17 September that an upgraded cloud-native 5G core had gone live in the UK. Ericsson's dual-mode core supports 4G and 5G traffic and is designed for aggregate packet capacity of 9Tbps.

The rollout is intended to create a dedicated common core for VodafoneThree's 28.6 million customers as the operator consolidates infrastructure inherited from Vodafone UK and Three UK. Earlier integration allowed customers to use shared radio coverage through Multi-Operator Core Network and Multi-Operator Radio Access Network arrangements.

The new core provides functions including user authentication, traffic routing and service-policy control. VodafoneThree and Ericsson say it will also support differentiated connectivity such as network slicing. The 9Tbps figure describes designed packet-core capacity, not the speed or latency available to an individual customer or enterprise site.

The assessment

A dedicated common core removes another layer of duplication left by the Vodafone-Three merger. VodafoneThree can define traffic policies and differentiated services from one central platform rather than operating them across separate legacy cores as integration progresses.

That makes network slicing easier to manage consistently, but the core is only one part of the service path. Enterprise traffic still crosses a radio cell and transport network, where available spectrum, congestion and backhaul can differ by location. A 9Tbps packet core therefore says little about the latency or throughput a factory, branch or event site will actually receive.

For BTW readers, the common core gives VodafoneThree one foundation for differentiated services across the merged network. Enterprise customers will still need evidence that radio, transport and core deliver the contracted performance at the locations where their applications run.

What to watch

Watch how quickly VodafoneThree migrates services onto the dedicated core and extends sliced products across the combined network. Published enterprise service levels and customer measurements from multiple sites would show whether central policy control produces consistent end-to-end performance. Handover and failover results would also show how services behave when traffic moves between radio sites.