Japanese Telco Optage Signs Up To HPE 5G Core Stack To Provide Private Networks

HPE has convinced a Japanese telecoms provider to operate its 5G stack as a testbed for private networks the carrier intends to offer to business customers.

The move could represent a new opportunity for HPE, which saw revenues grow at 2.9 per cent in its fiscal 2021 ended 31 October.

Telecoms firm Optage has signed up to HPE's 5G Core Stack to deploy a testbed network as part of a Japanese government initiative called Local 5G.

This aims to let organisations such as enterprises, local authorities, and universities deploy private 5G networks in a limited area using different frequencies from those of national mobile operators.

Optage said it is testing the viability of Local 5G networks to meet business customer requirements in areas such as manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and education.

Such private 5G networks, which may cover just the area of an organisation's campus, are expected to be particularly well suited for the specific connectivity needs within manufacturing and industrial use cases, providing dedicated bandwidth and guaranteed latency.

HPE announced it was entering the 5G market back in 2020 with its own 5G network software stack that the firm hoped would enable it to attract telecoms providers away from the traditional network equipment providers such as Ericsson and Huawei.

The HPE 5G Core Stack is a container-based, cloud-native core network software platform designed to run on industry-standard hardware. It is intended to drive automation, provide agility, and accelerate 5G service deployment for network operators, according to HPE.

• 50 US airports to be surrounded by 5G C-band-free zones
• Microsoft pushes ahead adapting Azure for 5G telecoms after swallowing AT&T's Network Cloud
• AT&T, Verizon delay 5G C-band rollout over FAA fears of passenger plane radars jammed by signals
• Dutch nuclear authority bans anti-5G pendants that could hurt their owners via – you guessed it – radiation

As with everything else the company does these days, it appears that the HPE 5G Core Stack is available as part of its GreenLake subscription service as a pre-integrated software and hardware platform.

The firm said that this enables telecoms operators to deploy a 5G core network and scale up in line with the growth of subscribers, reducing risk by minimising the upfront investment required.

In a canned statement, Hiroshi Miki, HPE's general manager for its Japanese Communications Technology Group, said the platform would enable operators like Optage to quickly validate network operations and see the business benefits.

In addition to the 5G Core Stack, HPE has previously announced an OpenRAN Solution Stack and Edge Orchestrator targeting telecoms providers building out 5G network infrastructure. ®