Telefónica, Pente partner to simplify 5G edge transformation for enterprises

With the convergence of the internet of things (IoT), big data and artificial intelligence driving a new wave of transformation for industries that require a new standard of capabilities, Spanish telco Telefónica has announced a collaboration with enterprise cellular 4G/5G platform firm Pente Networks to develop a managed 5G Cloud service and enable advanced transformation use cases for enterprises.

At the heart of the offer is the combination of 5G with a hyperscaler’s local edge computing capability to enable these new capabilities – such as firm control over where data is stored and executed, high-performance and secure wireless connectivity, and millisecond-grade latency – to facilitate business transformation for the foreseeable future.

The two companies regard current private 5G Edge implementations as mostly based on a special project approach, requiring much engineering effort to integrate devices, connectivity, cloud and applications.

In response, Telefónica has developed a platform that uses continuous integration, continuous deployment (CI/CD) tools to automate the integration of the different service components, including the core Pente network.

The new service follows a cloud-first approach to create a 5G cloud service that uses the full potential of the cloud to automate integration delivery, operations and integration with services on top, wrapped with what is said to be a simple digital view of the service for customers.

The result, say the two firms, is what they believe is a more replicable end-to-end product that shortens the delivery time from weeks to just a few hours. At the same time, they are confident that the large automation coupled with a simple user interface designed by Telefónica reduces the cost and complexity barriers for enterprises willing to embrace 5G and edge computing services.

Telefónica can combine 5G connectivity with a new generation of hyperscaler OnPremise and Edge platforms as a turnkey solution. This means enterprise customers can access hyperscaler services and benefit from the advantages of the cloud to build, manage and scale on-premise applications using familiar hyperscaler services and tools, which work in harmony with the Pente connectivity platform.

The result is said to be a platform which enables an operational model that maximises automation in the testing, deployment and operation of applications on top of the platform.

Pente complements an API First approach, providing a programmatic integration between the Pente Core and Telefónica’s platform for lifecycle control and to integrate with services on top. Activities cover the deployment of Pente Core on a hyperscaler infrastructure, integration with Telefónica’s platform and end-to-end service automation. The first customer PoCs will start this year.

“5G and Edge are bringing a new wave of transformation, in the same way mobile broadband and the cloud did some years ago,” said David del Val, CEO of Telefónica I+D.

“Telefónica is in the perfect position to create services combining 5G Connectivity, cloud edge, business applications and devices,” he said. “By using cloud-native principles we have transformed how the services are delivered to generate turnkey services. Now we can spin up private networks connected to apps on the cloud edge in hours or days, not weeks or months, and abstracting most of the underlying operational complexity of current 5G networks. This will enable us to reach more client segments and industries in the coming years.

“The same fully secure and private 4G/5G network supports highly available, high-quality real-time communications, including voice, messaging, and video, to data networking at the edge, important to edge computing and Industry 4.0 offerings.

“Telefónica can now spin up private networks in hours or days, not weeks or years, and can manage them through a single pane of glass using Pente’s advanced administrative console, with its intuitive, IT-friendly experience,” said Del Val.

“An internal team effort is being developed jointly by Telefónica's Innovation team and the IoT and Big Data division of Telefónica Tech.”