Juniper Research predicts that the volume of cellular data serviced by the cloud will grow from 700,000 PB in 2024 to 2.8 million PB in 2028, as operators deploy cloud infrastructure to improve network efficiency.
This expansion in cloud infrastructure will enable dynamic resource provisioning; allowing operators to increase the reliability of their 5G network services. This will allow operators to redistribute network resources to areas under strain, preventing network congestion.
Dynamic resource provisioning is the process of distributing telecommunications network resources in near-real-time.
Cloud-based dynamic resource provisioning
The transition to cloud-based 5G networks is key to enabling dynamic resource provisioning; allowing operators to easily reallocate computing resources for network functions. This automation will enable operators to provision network resources in near-real time, due to the efficiency and speed provided.
The report urges operators to integrate automated dynamic resource provisioning with other forms of network automation and resource management, to ensure a unified approach. This will be critical to maximising network efficiency and performance, as it prevents a chaotic collection of network resource management strategies and software.
Energy and smart cities – key for early monetisation
The report identified energy and smart cities as key market verticals for cloud-based 5G network service monetisation. Reliability is essential in these market verticals, due to their role as critical infrastructure, and operators must exploit this requirement by charging a premium to service providers.
Research author Alex Webb remarked: “To charge a premium, operators must couple increased reliability with improved latency and throughput; providing prioritised network slices to connections where possible.”
