Ericsson announced it will support SK Telecom for its 5G Standalone networks through the deployment of cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core on its Cloud Native Infrastructure (CNIS).

SK Telecom and Ericsson in March 2019 unveiled cloud-native 5G Core networks technology, architecture, implementation and operations plans. This latest cooperation builds on this partnership.

Park Jong-kwan, VP and Head of Infra Tech, SK Telecom, says: “With this achievement, cloud-native and 5G will bring many new services, faster, to a broad range of industries. SK Telecom will continue to collaborate with industry leaders like Ericsson on cutting edge technologies that provide the best customer experience.”

Monica Zethzon, Head of Solution Area Packet Core, Ericsson, says: “Standalone 5G will bring faster connectivity speeds, ultra-low latency and improved network reliability. Our dual-mode 5G Core solution supports an ecosystem for innovation that facilitates customized 5G services.”

Ericsson Cloud Native Infrastructure, a container on bare metal cloud infrastructure solution, makes network deployments and operations simpler.

By removing the virtualization layer from the cloud stack it is possible to achieve greater efficiency and improved automation and performance. The solution is scalable across central and edge locations, supporting a vast number of 5G services and use cases. The integrated Kubernetes platform, Ericsson Cloud Container Distribution, is certified by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation.

Ericsson and SK Telecom have strong 5G cooperation for many years. It has provided SK Telecom with 5G radio access network (RAN) equipment and network management system for their commercial 5G network rollout.