New cloud solution enables service providers to monetise the advanced services made possible by 5G network slicing
Amdocs, a provider of software and services to communications and media companies, has become the first in the industry to announce a 5G-ready online charging system. This new solution enables service providers to process traffic from multiple network slices through a common online charging system, in accordance with the 5G standards guidelines published by 3GPP in December 2017.
Network slicing is a key capability in 5G networks, as it allows service providers to run multiple logical networks that meet the varying performance needs of different services, from eHealth and autonomous vehicles, which demand the lowest possible latency, to less-critical but bandwidth-demanding virtual and augmented reality applications.
The latest release of Amdocs’ market-leading digital monetization suite provides a centralised charging entity for the monetization of all service configurations made possible by network slicing. It includes an innovative isolation mechanism that ensures the level of activity in one network slice does not impact another. Deployed in the cloud with the OpenStack cloud framework, the solution provides the elasticity to scale on-demand in support of changing activity levels.
“Our customers are leading the way in the industry’s transition to 5G, which will serve as the backbone for a new generation of services that require the higher bandwidth, lower latency and greater agility that 5G provides,” said Anthony Goonetilleke, group president of Amdocs Technology. “As such, we have developed the latest version of our Digital Monetisation suite to help them monetise the advanced product configurations that network slicing enables. It will also help them ensure that a customer connected to a 24/7 vital eHealth service, delivered over one network slice, is not impacted by an overload of events from another network slice streaming a live football match.”
“We are happy 3GPP has adopted guidelines that are consistent with the direction we have taken with our portfolio. This ability of our online charging system to support multiple network slices, coupled with its deployment in the cloud with the OpenStack cloud framework, is going to be critical to agility and the customer experience in 5G environments,” added Goonetilleke.