MWC is never short on news. From customer announcements and new deployments to incredible new innovation and powerful partnerships, Barcelona never fails to prick up our ears and raise our eyebrows.  For VMware, that certainly holds true this year. This blog consolidates all of our announcements and gives you quick commentary and way to learn more.

This blog will be updated daily with the additional news of the day so be sure to check back. If you’re in Barcelona, please come see VMware multi-cloud solutions on display in Hall 3, Stand 3M11.

Telcos Transform into Technology Powerhouses with VMware

VMware unveils products and partnerships that will help service providers more quickly modernize their networks and monetize new services. This includes innovations in the areas of modern apps, the RAN, and the edge.

Modern App Transformation for Telco

• Safaricom Taps VMware to Build a Greenfield Network in Ethiopia: Safaricom, as part of an international consortium named the Global Partnership for Ethiopia, will build out a telecom network in Ethiopia from scratch. In this endeavor, Safaricom has selected VMware Telco Cloud Platform as the digital foundation on top of which its network will rise.
  > Learn more about the power of VMware Telco Cloud Platform
• Dell, Oracle and VMware have created a validated design that provides a blueprint for building a robust, scalable 5G core on industry standard infrastructure. The solution can shorten network deployments by reducing the time needed to design, test, and integrate components from multiple partners.
  > Come see the “Dell Technologies Validated Design for 5G Core with Oracle Communications and VMware” at stand 3M11.

Disaggregation of the RAN

The RAN transformation is well underway for service providers around the world. Traversing the journey from physical, to virtual and open RAN is accelerated by a growing ecosystem of RAN innovators. VMware works with a broad ecosystem of RAN vendors to test and validate the interoperability of their solutions with VMware Telco Cloud Platform RAN. It does this so that service providers do not have to. Instead, they can simply run and manage RAN functions from a variety of vendors on a platform that is built and optimized for the RAN. New updates on VMware’s work with strategic RAN partners include:

• DISH is standing up a 5G network from scratch and selected VMware to build the foundation for the complex radio access network (RAN). Its RAN workloads will run on top of VMware Telco Cloud Platform RAN and, announced today, DISH will trial VMware’s RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) as the platform on top of which RAN applications will run.
  > Read Press Release
  > Read Dish’s blog about RAN Management
• HCL Technologies and VMware Expand Partnership to 5G and RAN Deployments: VMware and HCL will expand their partnership to deliver integrated solutions for service providers around the world. Specifically, HCL will expand its portfolio of managed infrastructure services powered by VMware technology to include support for VMware Telco Cloud – 5G Core and VMware Telco Cloud RAN. In addition, HCL will set up a dedicated lab to streamline the deployment of these solutions across customers’ networks.
  > Learn more about VMware Telco Cloud Platform – RAN
  > Explore the VMware RAN Transformation Library

Programmability of the Network

In O-RAN architectures, the RAN Intelligent Controller—or RIC—hosts apps that enable new capabilities such as automation, network optimization and service customization.

• VMware RIC hosts both near-real-time applications (xApps) and non-real-time applications (rApps) built by a growing ecosystem of third-party software developers.
  >Explore the VMware RIC webpage to learn more
• Vodafone recently completed a proof-of-concept designed to enable more efficient use of spectrum. They ran a new app from Cohere Technologies, the Spectrum Multiplier, on VMware RIC connected to a Capgemini 5G RAN. The results: Vodafone doubled 5G spectral efficiency—and effectively cell site capacity—using Cohere’s xApp intelligence.
  >Read more about this proof of concept and Vodafone’s O-RAN journey
• Arrcus’ virtualized routing solution, Arrcus ACE 2.0, is now interoperable with VMware Telco Cloud Platform, enabling service providers to increase the programmability of their networks and extend them to the edge. At MWC, SoftBank is demonstrating how it achieved its vision for 5G Mobile User Plane enablement.
  > Watch Telco Cloud 5G MUP Demonstration with VMware and Arrcus
• AWS and VMware are working together to simplify workload portability across clouds and enable agile service delivery at the edge.
  > Read the Release

Enterprise Transition to the Edge

• ASOCS, Druid and VMware have unveiled a validated design for private mobile networks, enabling enterprise customers to take advantage of more secure, robust, 5G connectivity at the edge. Running on VMware’s Edge Compute Stack, ASOCS CYRUS RAN and Druid Raemis Core, deliver a Private 5G solution.
  > Read more about our validated design in partnership with ASOCS and Druid
• STL, ASOCS and VMware introduced a 5G enterprise solution offering a powerful on-premises, fully virtualized and open RAN. Featuring STL’s Garuda, a smart 5G indoor small cell, this solution can be hosted alongside enterprise IT infrastructure on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) servers, seamlessly blending with an enterprise’s existing infrastructure.
• BT will offer multinational customers VMware SASE as a global managed service, combining BT’s extensive networking capabilities and in-depth security expertise with VMware technology.
  > Read the announcement
• MetTel will offer customers a managed SASE solution powered by VMware SASE.
  > Get the details in the joint announcement on Tuesday, March 1.
• Verizon Business Furthers Global Managed Services Portfolio Expansion with VMware: Verizon announces the addition of VMware to the global managed Software-Defined Wide-Area Network (SD-WAN) service portfolio. This new solution, built for cloud-ready global enterprises, bolsters Verizon’s partner ecosystem in delivering managed SD-WAN services within its Network as a Service (NaaS) strategy.
  > Learn more about VMware SD-WAN