How Vodafone Idea preparing for 5G race and looking to boost existing network performance

Prepping for 5G, Vodafone Idea has partnered with Swedish telecom company Ericsson to deploy new Cloud Packet Core to boost its network performance. It will help Vodafone Idea to improve its existing wireless broadband services. But there's more it and we'll talk about it shortly. But before we get into that, let's see what Ericsson's Cloud Packet Core deployment brings to the table.

As part of this deal, Vodafone Idea will benefit from Ericsson's core network applications and Network Functions like virtual Evolved Packet Gateway (vEPG), Service Aware Policy Controller (vSPAC) and Virtualisation Infrastructure (NFVi).

READ | India requires 5G network sooner than expected: Ericsson

The existing core network has certain limitations in terms of performance and scalability to handle such a massive amount of connected devices. And now that the Internet of Things (IoT) market is also gaining momentum like never before, the world of connected devices is getting even more crowded. Handling all these ever-increasing connected devices on the existing core network is going to get very much difficult for all the telecom operators in the future as it limits their ability to boost connectivity speeds.

Vodafone Idea can expand reach into new vertical segments and provide users with low-latency and high-availability services. Additionally, this partnership will help Vodafone Idea ease the transition to 5G when the necessary infrastructure is in place.

READ | India braces for 5G as economic impact estimated to be over one trillion dollars

"Data consumption in India is growing rapidly and users are looking for new, richer experiences every day," said Vishant Vora, CTO of Vodafone Idea. "We are confident that Ericsson's vEPC solution will enable us to meet our strategic goals."

"As users across India consume more and more data, packet core networks will need to be enhanced," said Alvise Carlon, Head of Digital Services at Ericsson in India. "This will not only provide Vodafone Idea the scale and reach to address the growing data traffic levels in India but will also enable them to tap new revenue streams in SMEs and IoT.

READ | Not sure what 5G will be all about? Here's pretty much everything you need to know