This year’s MWC Barcelona event was overshadowed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that wiped out last year’s show and delayed this year’s event until it was deemed safer. But, below that layer of cloud cover was the realization that the cloud is robust enough to unleash the full power of 5G technology.

Sure, we have seen operators begin to roll out 5G services in fits and starts, with the marketing cry further than ever out in front of actual performance. That is because 5G needs a robust and extensive cloud and software layer to truly match its promise.

This topic is, of course, nothing new to our readers. We have been bombarding you with this transition for years. But, a lot of that coverage has also highlighted telecom concerns over the robustness of cloud platforms to deal with telco-grade challenges.

One of the biggest validations on this migration came from AT&T’s decision to sell its Network Cloud technology business to Microsoft and run its 5G network core, workloads, and services on Azure. This is possible because AT&T launched its 5G network as basically a virtual network function (VNF) running on its virtualized infrastructure base.

AT&T was one of the first large-scale telecom operators to throw its weight behind the move toward SDN and NFV when it launched its Domain 2.0 initiative in late 2013. That program focused on gaining software-defined control of 75% of its network operations that could be controlled by software by 2020, which it basically achieved — plus or minus a few statements.

As part of that journey, AT&T built out a robust software team that had enough might to attract much-needed new vendor blood and initiatives into the market. And all along that journey that team also kept those vendors on their toes by questioning the robustness of their software plans.

Telecom has learned cloud lessons

Those efforts have seemingly paid off, or at least enough for operators to realize that they have no business trying to be in the cloud business.

William Ho, principal analyst at 556 Ventures, likened the move to what AT&T and Verizon did several years ago when they sold off their public cloud businesses.

“It’s the whole scale thing,” Ho explained. “They realized that they were not Amazon, Google, or Microsoft and so they really had no way to scale that effectively without dumping a lot of money in, so they got rid of those businesses. With this, they are realizing that they are going to do open RAN and other software moves, but they just don’t have the full expertise and the capex to make it work.”

Outside of the carrier moves, traditional telecom vendors also migrated more of their future to the cloud giants. Ericsson, for instance, tapped Google Cloud to assist network operators’ shift to cloud-native infrastructure. That move echoed one by its Nordic rival Nokia from earlier this year.

These efforts have all been built on the backs of the cloud ecosystem turning its full attention to the lucrative telecom market that has floundered in dealing with this need. And these recent moves have shown that those traditional telecom players are ready to make the final push in order to deliver on their 5G promise.

Cloud challenges remain, but must be overcome

All of this excitement is not to say that challenges don’t still remain. Greenfield operator Rakuten Mobile, for instance, has based its business model on running its 5G network in the cloud, and these efforts have provided both success and headache.

Regardless of those remaining challenges, telecom operators must make the move, and the cloud and software ecosystem has to continue its focus on making sure its platforms can support those moves. While financial terms of the AT&T deal with Microsoft were not announced, it’s obvious that there is a substantial return available for the vendors and cloud providers that can bridge this gap.