Juniper Networks, Ericsson Expand Partnership for 5G Management

Complete end-to-end 5G solution brings together best-of-breed radio access, IP transport and security portfolios to simplify service providers’ next-gen mobile networks. The prospect of earning big bucks in connection with the upcoming fifth-generation wireless, or 5G--the latest iteration of cellular technology--is causing companies to partner up and get products ready for when this rolls out big time in 2019. Verizon, Apple and Google (for 5G video streaming), Cisco, Samsung and Orange (for a new LTE network in Romania) and Qualcomm and just about everybody else (for a series of new projects) are three recent examples of these partnerships. Here’s yet another one: Juniper Networks revealed Sept. 5 that it is expanding its 18-year partnership with mobile network provider Ericsson to produce an end-to-end 5G enterprise package using each other’s products and services. The two companies, who were close to merging three years ago, are now offering service providers a complete 5G transport network solution with single source of control to manage the new requirements of next-generation mobile service delivery. This partnership aims to offer service providers a complete solution from radio to core for new-service delivery while managing growing data stores and traffic complexity. 5G is expected to be a game changer for the next generation of business and consumer services, but the increase in connectivity, network traffic and customer expectations likely will create new challenges for managing the mobile transport network in a cost-effective way.