Ericsson announced on Tuesday it has completed an automated upgrade of Vodafone Oman’s core network applications and cloud infrastructure, which will enable the telco to deploy standalone (SA) 5G services.
The scope of the project covered Vodafone Oman’s end-to-end core network and cloud infrastructure, network management, life cycle management and business support systems (BSS), all of which run on Ericsson gear.
More specifically, Ericsson upgraded virtual and containerized core network functions including evolved packet core (EPC), home subscriber server (HSS), unified data management (UDM), IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), policy and charging rules functions (PCRF), and management and orchestration (MANO) applications.
Ericsson said its service delivery and managed network services teams conducted the upgrade in collaboration with Vodafone Oman. Ericsson also said the upgrade was facilitated by its automation pipeline with minimal human intervention, and caused no traffic disruptions during the process.
“Over 200 live node activities (LNA) were executed in 100% first-time-right with zero incidents and escalations,” the company said.
Ericsson also said the automated upgrade process helps Vodafone Oman facilitates improved performance and faster time-to-value compared to manual processes, and enables the telco to implement the latest security patches and corrections faster to reduce network-related risks.
Vodafone Oman CEO Bader Al Zidi said it also means the telco can get on with launching 5G SA.
“This upgrade, and the introduction of the Ericsson automation framework to support further automated upgrades, are an important stepping stone for us to enable the implementation of new technology services and preparing Vodafone for a smooth introduction of 5G SA,” he said in a statement. “The automation will not only enhance our day-to-day operations but also set the stage for future expansion.”
Vodafone Oman’s 5G SA network project with Ericsson has been in the works for some time now. In January 2023, both companies announced they had conducted a successful voice over new radio (VoNR) proof of concept call over a standalone 5G network as part of the project.
Vodafone Oman, which launched commercial services in 2022, signed a five-year deal with Ericsson in September 2021 to deploy, operate and maintain its greenfield 4G and 5G network. In March, Vodafone Oman said its 5G network covered 70% of the population, and aims to boost that to 90% by the end of this year.
