Dell Technologies : Advancing 5G Innovation Through Our Open Telecom Ecosystem Lab

Between the World Mobile Congress in 2019 and this year’s largely virtual event, the deployment of a 5G network has exploded – from just three in South Korea to 165 in more than 65 countries. Despite the speed of 5G proliferation, the real return on these huge investments is in the future for most communications service providers (CSPs).

The game-changing capacity and latency of 5G create great titles, but by themselves will not generate variable revenue streams. Instead, they enable CSPs to go beyond connectivity with innovative, high-value enterprise services delivered largely to the edge using a cloud framework. As IDC predicts that the number of new operational processes implemented in the final infrastructure will increase from below 20% today to over 90% in 2024, there is tremendous potential.

Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and computer vision are major candidates for this service innovation. Linking real-world events to real-time data analysis can bring businesses completely new knowledge and capabilities. By replacing the monolithic 4G infrastructure with an open cloud architecture, 5G makes it possible to move these services to where they are consumed. Add to this the ultra-low latency of 5G and there are huge opportunities to build extremely attractive new corporate services in real time.

In this new world, traditionally static functional hierarchical network architectures based on a functional hierarchy need to become more dynamic and agile based on the location of service consumption and service characteristics. This transformation requires cloud local operations with hybrid and multi-cloud environments that bring digital service capabilities to the brink, enabling revenue from an innovative ecosystem to use.

This will help turn businesses and the Internet of Things into the new engine for CSP revenue growth. Network isolation IT, with scaled automation using AI / ML, also helps the end result by reducing OPEX costs. This includes using the hardware technology curve, simplifying SKUs for spare parts and inventory, and eliminating vendor locks.

However, these opportunities come with challenges, including access to an ecosystem from use cases, validation and integration of services, and access to corporate markets.

Unlock the capabilities of the edge of the enterprise

We have seen that CSP providers are under pressure to make a fundamental shift from the old telecommunications infrastructure to their own radio access network (RAN) hardware and legacy systems. 5G makes it possible to replace these closed environments with a flexible, highly scalable software-defined infrastructure built on open, state-of-the-art technologies such as virtualization and finite computing.

However, it is one thing to define the challenge and quite another to solve it. A crucial step in this journey is for the telecommunications sector to adapt to a cloud-based, standards-based, open RAN ecosystem capable of seamlessly connecting to today’s virtualized IT. This is difficult for individual companies to achieve in isolation.

The complexity, lack of common standards and the difficulty of developing ready-made market solutions from end to end are insurmountable for most individual players. Even for those who want to take on the task, there is an urgent need to minimize the risk and avoid creating even more patented solutions.

In short, what is needed is a catalyst for industry-wide collaboration and open-ended collaboration.

Introducing OTEL – The Open Telecommunication Ecosystem Laboratory

This is the role that Dell Technologies is taking on with the Open Telecom Ecosystem initiative. Launched at our telecommunications transformation event on June 9, 2021, the goal is to bring together all stakeholders in the future of telecommunications to jointly create the open, cloud-based, standards-based ecosystem needed to deliver the full potential of 5G. .

For this purpose, OTEL is completely hardware and software neutral. Dell Technologies facilitates the project by providing the scale and platform for organizing the ecosystem. We realize that “open” must mean just that, and the best way to maximize the potential of 5G is to remove the constraints on interoperability, innovation and growth.

The scale of Dell’s commitment to the task is reflected in the OTEL facility currently under construction in Round Rock, Texas. Opened in early 2022, this cutting-edge laboratory will quickly push the boundaries of what is possible, facilitating collaboration and solving real problems. The expanded technical capabilities and creation spaces are complemented by a multidisciplinary team focused on business innovation and market entry strategy, as well as technical innovation.

However, many CSPs face an urgent need to update their networks for5G right now and the transition from proprietary legacy systems to a software-defined future. That’s why our virtual OTEL lab is now open for business, giving access to industry-leading tools and running multiple projects in parallel.

With secure remote access from anywhere in the world and the ability to reflect their own lab environments, users can create and manage test plans, access equipment and see OTEL lab results. Partners and customers can also connect their lab resources with ours to test, develop and test new technologies as if they were on site at Round Rock.

How OTEL opens up 5G potential

As networks focus on providing infrastructure and edge applications, the number of components they need to deploy and manage will grow exponentially. This in turn involves more partners in the 5G value chain, with commensurate growth in solution complexity.

OTEL helps to overcome this complexity and clear the way for innovation in three ways:

• Activation services stimulate compliance with industry standards, simplify integration and interoperability, and create an open ecosystem with maximum choice and agility.

• Delivery services provide engineering resources to manage the complexity of design, delivery, and maintenance.

• Demonstration and training facilities allow experimentation, learning, and proof of concept, with rapid co-creation of products and market support potential from Dell Technologies’ global sales team.

Ultimately, it’s all about improving results for our customers. We do this by enabling genuine industrial cooperation to take critical steps towards an ecosystem of open telecommunications solutions, including:

• Certification and development of open solutions for multiple providers.

• Evidence of a concept to accelerate time to market and time to revenue.

• Facilitating collective innovation and integration.

OTEL’s mission is to accelerate and simplify the creation of an open and modern telecommunications ecosystem. We can help you assemble, test and validate complex technical solutions from end to end at a fast pace. But more than that, we give you the opportunity to create new business opportunities with the support of one of the world’s leading enterprise sales teams.

Where will your 5G journey take you?

5G’s open cloud infrastructure is an empty canvas for innovation. There are rich prizes to be won, but speed is essential in this emerging market.

We believe that collaboration in an open, supplier-neutral environment, focused on technical advances and business impact, offers the clearest way to achieve these awards.

If you want to learn more about OTEL and Dell’s CSP services, visit Dell Technologies Telecommunications Website.

¹ IDC FutureScape, “Forecasts for the Global IT Industry 2021”, October 2020