As enterprises continue their digital transformations with the evolution to 5G technology and deploy next-generation applications, many will be turning to dedicated private mobile networks to deliver the low latencies, massive bandwidths, strong security, and flexible scalability those applications will require. This marks a tremendous opportunity for mobile network operators (MNOs) and mobile service providers (MSPs) to quickly and securely deliver private LTE/5G network services to those enterprises.
Affirmed Private Network Service (APNS) empowers MNOs and MSPs to seize this opportunity with technology that combines Affirmed’s industry-leading mobile core with Microsoft Azure’s capabilities to create a complete turnkey solution for private LTE/5G networks for enterprises. On June 16, as part of their Azure Private MEC offering announcement, Microsoft also announced the availability of APNS on the Azure marketplace.
APNS is a fully managed, end-to-end solution that MNOs and MSPs can deploy to offer enterprises a carrier-grade private network. This lays the foundation for the application of a wide range of next-generation 5G use cases – including Industry 4.0 – over a flexible, scalable, cost-efficient core service. With its seamless integration between private and public networks, APNS allows comprehensive mobility across multiple enterprise sites and across geographical locations.
“Affirmed Private Network Service combines 5G core technology with the cloud, providing operators with the ability to scale private networks to thousands of enterprise locations,” said Sanjay Mewada, Worldwide Marketing Leader, Microsoft. “Along with high-speed, high-bandwidth connectivity, APNS and Azure will give enterprises enormous flexibility in three key areas: dynamically scaling regional locations on demand, maximizing CapEx and OpEx savings on cloud infrastructure, and the ability to manage applications and connectivity on an end-to-end basis.”
Powerful, flexible, scalable
Affirmed Private Network Service consists of Affirmed Mobile Core, Affirmed Service Manager, Microsoft Azure Stack Edge platform, and Azure Network Function Manager. APNS is built on a cloud-native architecture that allows MNOs and MSPs to deploy an entire mobile core at the edge of the network, entirely in the cloud, or as a hybrid, with the control pane in the cloud and the user plane on the enterprise edge. That flexibility and scalability removes much of the complexity and other barriers to deploying a private LTE/5G network and offers a number of benefits, including:
Lower cost of entry
By enabling MNOs and MSPs to deploy a virtualized 5G core in the cloud, APNS helps to significantly reduce the cost of deploying 5G technology.
Simplified operation and management
The integration between Affirmed’s mobile core and Microsoft Azure enables MNOs and MSPs to easily deploy and manage private 5G networks remotely, from service orchestration and lifecycle management to maintaining and monitoring KPIs.
MNO-integrated mobility
APNS delivers seamless mobility across multiple enterprise sites through its distributed subscriber core and provides full mobility between private and public networks.
Deep business insights
MNOs, MSPs, and enterprises can leverage advanced services from Azure marketplace partners, including analytics, AI, machine learning, and other technologies.
With greater 5G adoption, the edge will become even more critical to driving new and future applications such as AR/VR, IoT, M2M, automation, and robotics. Moving, processing, and storing massive amounts of data closer to the end user will be a key requirement for enterprises. MNOs and MSPs will be critical enablers in this transformation. We welcome MNOs and MSPs to explore how they can create the next generation of 5G and cloud-based infrastructure for their enterprise customers and help them accelerate their digital transformation. Click here to learn more about how APNS and Azure can help you build that network today.