Three UK sets out to build largest mobile packet core in Europe

Noting that traffic usage has exploded on its network in recent years and that such growth has meant the need to install a cloud-native network that is scalable and can grow with customers’ increasing data demands, Three UK has selected global technology provider Ericsson to build what it says will be the largest mobile packet core in Europe.

As it explained the rationale for the new infrastructure, the mobile network operator – which has been in business since 2003 – said data from Enders Analysis showed it led the way on mobile data consumption with the most traffic of any operator in the UK, and further revealed that in 2024, customers used an average of 31.5GB per month, up 18% year-on-year and more than 2.5 times the national average. There was also a 40% year-on-year growth in 5G usage, accounting for almost two-fifths of data (39%) now used on the network.

Peak traffic exceeded 2Tbps (terabits per second) for the first time on 4 December 2024, which the operator attributed to customers streaming Premier League football matches on Amazon and checking out the latest Fortnite update. This came just over two years after the measurement reached 1Tbps, a milestone that took almost two decades to achieve.

Drilling deeper, Three UK said gaming contributed to two-thirds of network peaks through the year and that half of all data traffic during the Euros final in July 2024 was to BBC and ITV streaming services as people tuned in to watch.

The new Three UK cloud-native core network will be based on Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core and supported by Ericsson Cloud Native Infrastructure. When complete, the operator said it will be the largest of its kind in Europe, more than tripling its core capacity to 9Tbps.

In addition, the infrastructure will sit on Three’s nationwide distributed datacentre network to bring its core network closer to its customers, helping to support improved latency. The cloud-native infrastructure and core network solution is already being installed in Three’s datacentres and is projected to be partially operational by the end of 2025, followed by a “careful” migration of all traffic over the next few years.

Commenting on the deployment, Three chief network officer Iain Milligan said: “The last few years have seen a tsunami of data growth, with traffic at peak times doubling in a little over two years, driven by home broadband, streaming and gaming usage on our network growing faster than ever. Our new core network with Ericsson ensures we are able to support our customers’ data usage over the medium and long term.”

In the deployment of this genre of technology, Ericsson assured that it could deliver benefits such as scalable capacity growth to support future needs; enhanced stability with less downtime; greater network insights enabling Three UK to manage demand more effectively; in-service software upgrades – the ability to upgrade infrastructure without having to drain traffic from a datacentre; and enhanced environmental performance via the latest technology upgrades.

“We are incredibly proud to support Three UK in this next stage of their network transformation,” said Ericsson UK and Ireland CEO Katherine Ainley. “Our long-standing partnership with Three is one built on trust, innovation and a shared commitment to delivering exceptional mobile experiences. This project is a significant milestone in our collaboration, and we’re excited to help Three build a new core network to meet the ever-growing data demands of customers.”