Huawei this week provided updates to its 5G core network strategy and SingleRAN Pro platform at its Global Analyst Summit. During a keynote, Jason Dai, Huawei’s president of cloud core network strategy, detailed three components of Huawei's 5G core network that the company will use to enable new services and business models for thousands of industries.

Cloud native, which Huawei describes as the cornerstone of its 5G core network, embeds three-layer decoupling, stateless design, disaster recovery across multiple data centers, containers, and service-based frameworks into the network core. Huawei says it has inked more than 580 commercial cloud core network contracts worldwide to date.

The vendor's cloud-native evolved packet core was launched in 2016, followed by testing for telecom networks in 2018, and was released as a microservices-based 5G standalone (SA) core network platform this year, Dai explained at the event.

Earlier this week, the company detailed plans to pursue a more rapid pace of innovation.

Huawei also claims to be the only vendor that provides a fully converged solution for 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G non-standalone (NSA), and 5G SA core networks. The company says a software upgrade can enable network operators to transition from 4G to 5G SA architecture without changing equipment.

The network core software uses a flow control algorithm and elastic cloud-native architecture to maintain stable and reliable operations during spikes in traffic, according to Huawei. The company also said it is the first vendor to support end-to-end network slicing and has initiated multiple trials with operators to test capabilities for utility management, 4K live broadcasts, artificial reality gaming, campus deployments, healthcare, and connected vehicles.

The third leg of Huawei’s 5G core network is edge computing. With 5G expected to drive an increase in traffic by at least tenfold, more than 80% of data and processing will occur at the edge, the company said at its event. Core network user planes, which are also expected to increase tenfold, will be deployed closer to the edge to lower latency and provide reliable service for bandwidth-heavy applications. Huawei’s edge computing also provides on-demand scheduling to direct processing based on needs and available resources.

Outside of the core, Huawei’s SingleRAN Pro platform aims to give network operators more flexibility in their upgrade path to 5G by providing simplified sites, networks, operations, and maintenance. The company said its Super Blade Site equipment delivers higher bandwidth on multi-channel 5G base stations that can be lighter and smaller than older radio access network (RAN) equipment. Super Blade Site is designed for outdoor applications including greenfield macro sites, rooftops, and new poles.

Huawei also detailed its approach to mobile network automation, which is comprised of five levels. The company said the current technology is at level two and is expected to reach level three by 2022. And Huawei said its mobile broadband automation engine enables operators to increase efficiency of operations and maintenance by a magnitude of 10 and boost network performance by 20%.

“Huawei will continue its investment in 5G technologies and stick to transparent and open cooperation to build a credible [information and communications technology] infrastructure,” Peter Zhou, CMO of Huawei’s wireless network product line, said in a prepared statement. “Huawei prides itself on taking complex issues and making them simple for customers. We are delighted to invite industry partners to join the 5G industry and develop a healthy 5G ecosystem.”