The world is on the cusp of a connectivity evolution as networks expand from connecting people to connecting things. With billions of connections by 2030, networks are expected to carry manifolds of the existing bandwidth to support growing industry digital transformation and digital economies. To meet the demands of agile, low latency, high bandwidth, high reliability, and security with massive computing power and large storage space, data communications networks as a key digital infrastructure must transform to support more and newer types of services.
As the latest generation of data communication network technology, Net5.5G signals a leap into the intelligent world. A network technology transformation founded on Net5.5G will reshape the way the world communicates and support vertical industry use cases, the upcoming metaverse era and increased Industrial IoT activities.
Offering key insights into Net5.5G, Omdia has unveiled a white paper titled “Research on the Trends of Data Communications Network for 2030”. In this white paper – released in partnership with several carriers and industry stakeholders – Omdia cited the importance of intelligent and high-performance data communications networks as the imperative to enabling a wide range of new industry scenarios and applications in the new era.
The white paper defines Net5.5G as the “evolution of network infrastructure in the era of ubiquitous computing, 5.5G mobile networks, and all-industry digitalization. The main capability advancement includes the convergence of computing and networks, improved 5.5G bearer networks, as well as intelligent internet and inter-sensing of everything.”
At the Global MBB Forum 2022 Intelligent Cloud-Network Forum, themed "Continuously Innovate Intelligent Cloud-Networks, Stride Towards Net5.5G,” Huawei shared that Net5.5G promotes enterprise digital transformation to fuel carriers' business growth, leveraging leased lines for carriers to extend their service capabilities and yield increased B2B revenue streams.
As the foundation of next-gen networks, Net5.5G is fundamental to enabling use cases including AI-intensive applications, immersive metaverse and all-industry digitalization, and is a catalyst in driving network migration to support a digitalized and intelligent world with converged virtual and physical spaces in the 6G era and beyond.
The mix of "private line + X" allows carriers to meet a wide range of requirements and benefit from faster deployment, more flexible multi-cloud connections, enhanced quality assurance and tenant-level scheduling.
For instance, Private Line + Premium provides solutions of automatic slicing technology-based tenant-level virtual slicing private networks to help carriers expand their commercial offerings of private line services. As Wi-Fi 6 evolves to Wi-Fi 7 with a peak air interface rate of 30 Gbit/s, Private Line + LAN/Wi-Fi Managed Service grows carriers' DICT from the traditional MPLS VPN private line to the LAN network of the SME, implementing cloud-managed network services with WAN, LAN, Wi-Fi and IOT convergence. Finally, Private Line + SD-WAN provides enterprises with a fast cloud access experience through SD-WAN to enable large-scale hybrid networking of MPLS VPN and other private line technologies.
Having commercially launched the largest 5G network in the Middle East and North Africa – and faced with challenges such as stricter SLA, more complex O&M and higher bandwidth demand – Zain KSA has built a converged transport network to ensure that the transport network is simplified, intelligent, ultra-broadband, and capable of transitioning the carrier into the future of connectivity.
To deliver on the promise of a 10 Gbps everywhere experience and improved management of millions of data center servers, carriers can deploy technologies such as E2E SRv6, slicing, full-lifecycle automation, telemetry and digital map to build a basic transport network featuring multi-cloud and multi-computing collaboration, committed SLA, multi-dimensional visualization and predictable O&M.
For instance, E2E tunnelling through IPv6 with SRv6 implementation will support the commercialization of the industrial internet and accelerate Industry 4.0 use cases. Converged IP bearer networks with E2E SRv6 transport will establish more intelligent networks to meet business verticals’ requirements.
From one data center to the managing of millions of data center servers in the future, AI computing power and full-lifecycle automation can be met with an all-Ethernet converged architecture, 800GE interconnection and L4 ADN capabilities.
Recognizing that the Net5.5G vision empowers a digital future, many carriers are embracing network transformations to drive business growth.
As an example, Telekom Malaysia (TM) launched the "New TM" transformation plan in 2020, which focuses on delivering superior connectivity, excellent solutions and the ultimate customer experience. By working with partners in the Net5.5G ecosystem, TM relies on its new NGT network and the existing TM Cloud Alpha platform to help enterprises digitalize.
Likewise, True Online has started building an ultra-broadband and intelligent data center network to yield the benefits of enhanced network speeds, content customization and massive connections.
To drive the industrial digital economy forward, the industry must work together closely to define the future network architecture, spearhead innovations and create a vibrant ecosystem that delivers success in the Net5.5G era.
To learn more about Net5.5G, please click here.
