M1 to roll out Singapore's first cloud-based virtual core network

This will be in partnership with Huawei.

The first cloud-based virtual Enhanced Packet Core (vEPC) network solution will soon be launched in Singapore by the joint initiative of telco M1 and IT solutions provider Huawei.

According to M1, this enhances its core network robustness and resiliency, and enables dynamic and more efficient use of network resources to support wide-ranging Smart Nation use cases.

By harnessing the latest cloud-computing and Network Function Virtualisation (NFV) technologies, M1’s fully distributed and agile packet core network will be able to dynamically deploy core resources wherever they are needed, and provide flexibility to swiftly scale up and down resources based on customer demands. This will significantly improve network performance and enhance customer experience.

According to M1 chief technical officer Denis Seek, with software functions separated from the underlying hardware platforms, the cloud-based virtualised core network allows faster in-service software upgrades, at the same time significantly reducing downtime for maintenance and testing of new services.

“The highly scalable nature of the network will also enable us to meet the dynamic resources demands of new products, shorten the time-to-market innovative products, and enable us to reduce implementation and maintenance costs,” said Seek.

The launch of the cloud core network, Huawei International CEO Lei Hui noted, should be seen as an important milestone in M1's cloud strategy and a significant step in digital transformation.