Telstra in Pact with Ericsson to Deploy World's First Combined Core Network for 2G/3G/4G

Telstra, an Australian telecommunications and media company, announced partnership with telecom equipment vendor Ericsson to deploy what the companies call as the “world’s first combined core network for 2G, 3G and 4G.”

For this network deployment, Ericsson 's Evolved Packet Core (EPC) enables the mobile broadband traffic carried in Telstra GSM, WCDMA/HSPA and LTE access networks to be seamlessly handled by the same core network nodes, company officials said. The combined network will help improve mobile broadband experience for consumers.

"Through implementing the Evolved Packet Core, we can smoothly integrate and transition 2G, 3G and 4G traffic seamlessly for our customers,” said Mike Wright, Telstra's executive director of Network and Access Technologies, in a statement. “This is the complete network solution that we envisioned over 5 years ago: a common and efficient core network supporting traffic from any source across our evolving GSM, WCDMA and LTE access networks.”

Ericsson has signed 30 commercial EPC contracts till date. Majority of these operators have deployed an EPC network as an overlay upon their existing packet core networks. EPC's validated triple- access functionality through software upgrades allows for smooth introduction of new IP-based services to existing networks, protecting earlier investments.

The triple-access Evolved Packet Core facilitates network planning and maintenance and allows for smooth introduction of new IP-based services, enabling cost-efficient operations and increased revenue for operators. With Telstra solution, they also benefit from the world’s first triple-access SGSN-MME pool.

“Ericsson has an extensive pool track record of world firsts, dating back to 2005 when the 2G pool was launched,” says Sam Saba, head of Ericsson Australia. “Telstra played a pioneering role by launching the world's first 3G pool, as well as a dual-access 2G/3G pool in 2007. Now, Telstra has made the next technology breakthrough by evolving its pool solution to also include its LTE network.”

In another recent development, Ericsson formed a partnership with sales performance management (SPM) provider Callidus Software for its Enterprise SPM suite. Ericsson will leverage Callidus Enterprise SPM suite to drive the internal sales force and channel partner performance for a leading Egyptian telecommunications company.