Ericsson and Verizon say a proof-of-concept trial in Oregon resulted in the first deployment of a container-based evolved packet core (EPC) technology on a live network. The cloud-native technology was deployed on Verizon’s existing 4G LTE mobile core, but the trial was designed to showcase the architecture of the network operator’s forthcoming 5G core.

“By evolving our core network past simply using virtualized machines and instead changing our underlying software architecture to run on cloud-native technology, we are able to achieve new levels of operational automation, flexibility, and adaptability,” said Bill Stone, vice president of technology development at Verizon, in a prepared statement.

The autonomous characteristics of container-based workloads running on a 5G core will be critical for network operators as they design 5G networks for bandwidth-heavy applications that require low latency. Cloud-native virtualization will also enable operators like Verizon to dynamically allocate resources and network configurations for specialized use.

Verizon is positioning the proof of concept as a precursor to making those capabilities commercially available on a 5G network riding on a 5G mobile core. For the trial, which occurred in Hillsboro, Oregon, Ericsson’s Packet Core Controller was deployed as a cloud-native and microservice-based mobility management entity. The software also used Docker images with software updates anticipated from Ericsson every two weeks.

Nils Viklund, head of solution area packet core at Ericsson, said the cloud-native design will deliver the agility operators need to manage workloads at the edge for new 5G use cases. “Now together with Verizon, we are demonstrating how cloud-native EPC can be an important step in increasing efficiency and utilization of the cloud infrastructure.”

Cloud-native technology operating on a commercially available network core is one in a series of many steps operators and vendors are working through on the path to 5G. Ericsson recently released standalone 5G New Radio (NR) software that operators can use to operate 5G independently on a dedicated packet core instead of being dependent on 4G LTE for connectivity.

Verizon has also been working behind the scenes to prepare for a fully virtualized 5G network by migrating its network core and edge processing functions, Adam Koeppe, senior vice president of network planning at Verizon, told SDxCentral in March.

All of the software functions operating on Verizon’s 5G network are fully virtualized today, but the network operator is still using its 4G LTE network core to provide connectivity for its burgeoning 5G radio access network (RAN). “All those functions in that path for 5G are virtual regardless of whether they’re 4G core that you’re using to support 5G or native to 5G functions,” Koeppe said in March.

“We’re trying to get the processing capabilities required on a network session as close to the consumer as possible,” Koeppe explained. Multi-access edge compute equipment (MEC) and network slicing are key components of that effort. “You have to make fundamental architectural changes to how your core works if you want to provide very low-latency services.”