How to build a flexible infrastructure for 5G success

Building 5G networks offers both challenges and opportunity

5G networks are more than an iteration of networking technology. They provide fundamentally new ways for businesses to operate and offer their products and services. To streamline 5G deployment and accelerate success, service providers will need to adopt a new network architecture that is software-defined, fully disaggregated, and able to be distributed optimally to meet performance and latency requirements. 

How 5G is causing shifts in industry

Service providers want a 5G platform that accelerates time to value for new business opportunities.

Responding to more dynamic and increasingly competitive markets is a must. Technology innovation and digital marketplaces have fostered new ways of working, and companies not limited by convention can deliver capabilities faster. Service providers need to streamline service innovation and improve experiences to deliver more value and compete better.

Differentiate yourself within the 5G value chain

The ability to deliver diverse service requirements for demanding and immersive experiences requires a flexible network architecture.

5G networks’ low latency and high bandwidth allow telecommunications (telco) service providers to develop and deliver new services that were not previously possible. These new use case categories will need to support millions—or even tens of millions—of devices cost-effectively, while offering highly reliable connections and very low power consumption.

Using a cloud-native platform, service providers can deliver the service-based distributed architecture defined for 5G functions, helping optimize the performance and latency of their networks for consumer and business customers. 

Service providers are in a unique position within the value chain as they have access to a plethora of network data that can provide insights to enrich and personalize 5G-based services. These value-added interactions will increase revenue opportunities and customer satisfaction. 

Icon-Red_Hat-Media_and_documents-Quotemark_Open-B-Red-RGB Telecom service providers and their vendors must transition to a software-based, cloud-centric architecture. At the same time, they need to reevaluate their positioning, value, and differentiators in the new ecosystem introduced by digital marketplaces. [1]

Chris Antlitz

TBR Principal Analyst

Move away from complex and rigid network infrastructures

Conventional networks are complex and inflexible, slowing service provider efforts to innovate and deliver new services.

A cloud-native 5G platform built with software allows service providers to easily move functions and applications between different cloud environments. They can respond to changing demand and implement different deployment strategies without interrupting services.

To capitalize on business opportunities afforded by 5G, network architects will need a solution that improves their current infrastructure’s flexibility, performance, efficiency, and agility. A cloud-native infrastructure will allow 5G services delivery at the pace your business requires.

How to develop a clear path to 5G

Protect your existing investments with a clear evolution path to 5G. With Red Hat® OpenShift®, service providers can simplify operations, as well as deploy and operate their networks in a cost-effective way, which will allow more efficient delivery of 5G-based services.   

Red Hat and its ecosystem of partners are focused on 5G innovation. We constantly advocate for service provider’s business needs in open source communities. We preintegrate solutions with our partners for 5G operational readiness, providing customers with a choice among trusted vendors. 

Red Hat OpenShift is built on Red Hat Enterprise Linux® so the reliability, performance, ecosystem, and other benefits of Red Hat Enterprise Linux inherently apply through the entire stack.

These products offer an enterprise-ready distribution of open source technology innovation, designed for, tested, and certified on different types of hardware and deployed across many industry verticals.


Learn more about how Red Hat can help service providers maximize the value of their 5G investments.

  1. Antlitz, Chris. “Top 3 Predictions For Telecom In 2022.” Technology Business Research, Inc. December, 2021

The move to cloud-native infrastructure and cloud-native network functions (CNFs) is an efficient and flexible way to deliver 5G services and applications at the pace a service provider’s business requires.

A common cloud-native platform provides a consistent, automated development, deployment, and operations experience across private, public, and hybrid cloud environments.