Australia's Telstra is working to simplify its mobile network by deploying the world's first Mobile Softswitch Solution from Ericsson, based on what the vendor calls highly efficient blade technology. It will also reduce the energy use of the softswitch by up to 60% per subscriber.
Telstra started this transformation in 2007 when it became the first operator in the world to implement a common GSM-WCDMA Mobile Switching Centre-Server (MSC-S) pool network, which is now in full commercial service. Commercial implementation of the next-generation Mobile Softswitch Solution using the new MSC-S Blade Cluster has just started.
This provides ultra-high capacity, supporting up to 8 million subscribers with two cabinets. The footprint can be as little as 10% of that for existing servers, reducing energy consumption, according to Ericsson.
Mike Wright, Telstra's executive director of wireless, says the completion of the world's first MSC-S pool architecture for a common GSM-WCDMA mobile core network means a more flexible and robust mobile network for Telstra's mobile customers.
Telstra will be the first operator to implement the MSC-S Blade Cluster commercially after selecting Ericsson to upgrade its mobile core network with the next generation of Mobile Softswitch Solution.