Google really wants to help telcos get into hybrid cloud
Three Google Cloud products are now available for telcos to try
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GoogleCloud has announced three new products aimed at communication service providers (CSPs) to help them transform their networks with hybrid cloud technologies.
AtMWC 2023, the tech giant revealed Telecom Network Automation, Telecom Data Fabric, and Telecom Subscriber Insights, which it says will provide telcos with an all-in-one cloud solution to build and run a hybrid cloud network.
Thecloud storageprovider also promises that the products will help them to “collect and manage network data; and improve customer experiences through artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics.”
TechRadar Pro needs you!We want to build a better website for our readers, and we need your help! You can do your bit by filling outour surveyand telling us your opinions and views about the tech industry in 2023. It will only take a few minutes and all your answers will be anonymous and confidential. Thank you again for helping us make TechRadar Pro even better.
D. Athow, Managing Editor
Insights and growth
Google Cloud is also updating itsGoogle Distributed Cloud Edge(GDC Edge) to allow CSPs to bring the cloud to more parts of their radio access networks (RANs) and 5G networks, and introducing theNetwork Function Optimizerfor the Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), so that CSPs can run their network functions in any Google Cloud region.
With over 70% of CSPs expected to move to the cloud for network functions by the end of the year, Google believes that its new Telecom Network Automation will speed up network and edge deployments by using automation tools in the cloud.
It is a cloud version of the open-sourceNephioproject, which Google developed in partnership with The Linux Foundation last year. Google claims that the new Telecom Network Automation will help CSPs to “improve time-to-market, multi-vendor interoperability, reduce error-prone configurations, and lower operational costs.”
It is now available in private preview globally, although Bell Canada has had access to an early release and is currently using it to “automate its implementation of Google Distributed Cloud Edge”.
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!
MWC 2023: foldable phones, chatbots, 6G and everything to expect>BT, Vodafone and European telcos urge EU to make big tech help pay for networks>Hybrid cloud: the best of both worlds
“Our partnership with Google Cloud advances our goal to fully automate our hybrid 5G core implementation with control functions over Google Kubernetes (GKE) and Google Distributed Cloud Edge”, said Bell Canada VP Petri Lyytikainen.
Also available in private preview globally is the second of Google’s newly announced products, Telecom Data Fabric. This aims to make data collection by CSPs simpler and gain insights quicker.
BigQuery and DataPlex data mesh architecture is used to unify the data and improve reusability, as well as meeting the requirement for data governance and sovereignty. It also uses Vertex AI so that CSPs can create AI applications “that support cross-domain network operations, energy efficiency, subscriber experiences, and monetization.”
The third and final product that Google is offering, Telecom Subscriber Insights, also utilizes AI and is designed to help telcos realize the best strategies for increasing customer engagement, whilst promising to do so “in a privacy-safe manner.” Google believes that it will help CSPs to “understand subscriber behavior, cross-sell and upsell, manage churn, and acquire new customers more effectively.” Again, this is also now available in private preview globally.
As network costs continue to rise for telcos, Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud, believes that “by applying cloud-native principles to network architectures, and accelerating subscriber growth through a holistic data management source, CSPs have the opportunity to bridge the gap between connectivity of today and connectivity of the future.”
Lewis Maddison is a Reviews Writer for TechRadar. He previously worked as a Staff Writer for our business section, TechRadar Pro, where he had experience with productivity-enhancing hardware, ranging from keyboards to standing desks. His area of expertise lies in computer peripherals and audio hardware, having spent over a decade exploring the murky depths of both PC building and music production. He also revels in picking up on the finest details and niggles that ultimately make a big difference to the user experience.
New fanless cooling technology enhances energy efficiency for AI workloads by achieving a 90% reduction in cooling power consumption
Samsung plans record-breaking 400-layer NAND chip that could be key to breaking 200TB barrier for ultra large capacity AI hyperscaler SSDs
NYT Strands today — hints, answers and spangram for Sunday, November 10 (game #252)
