The telecom industry is evolving rapidly, with modern network functions and cloud-native technologies driving the shift toward scalable, agile, and automated infrastructure. In a key milestone for 2025, Nokia has announced, and already commenced work on, its plan to upgrade its central VMware labs to VMware Telco Cloud Platform 5.0, a critical step to ensure availability of Nokia’s latest network functions. In support of that, VMware and Nokia are collaborating to validate and support Nokia’s Network Functions on VMware Telco Cloud Platform 5.0 version built on VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF).
Telco Cloud Platform 5.0 delivers significant benefits to Communication Service Providers (CSPs) who rely on high-performance, highly available telco workloads.
Upgrading Nokia’s Centralized VMware Lab: A Joint Commitment to Cloud Network Function Readiness
To enable Nokia’s latest network functions, Nokia completed upgrading its Cloud-native Network Function (CNFs) lab to Telco Cloud Platform 5.0 version. Nokia Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) lab upgrade is in progress. These labs serve as a critical engineering environment where Nokia’s product teams validate and support their network functions on VMware Telco Cloud Platform.
This upgrade marks a significant milestone and reflects the deep strategic partnership between VMware and Nokia. Both companies are committed to the success of this initiative and are contributing the necessary software and technical resources: VMware is delivering the latest version of Telco Cloud Platform, while Nokia is contributing the latest releases of its Network Functions.
This collaboration is backed by engineering investment on both sides including solution engineers, product management, and product development teams working together to ensure integration, quality, and timely validation.
Moreover, the partnership is driven by continuous product roadmap exchange, enabling both teams to stay aligned on future releases, feature support, and infrastructure readiness. This joint commitment accelerates delivery timelines, reduces integration risks, and ensures that CSPs receive production-ready solutions.
Key Focus Areas and Network Functions
VMware and Nokia are dedicating significant technical and support resources to ensure the success of this initiative, including the provision of the necessary software for validation and deployment.
Virtual Network Functions (VNFs)
- IP Multimedia Subsystem: Delivers rich voice, video and messaging services over IP networks to enable VoLTE and VoWIFI communications. Products: Nokia TAS, Nokia CFX-5000, Nokia SBC.
- Policy and Signaling: Determines the resources and services that can be used to support connected devices and controls the signaling within and between the core networks. Products: NPC CSD and AAA.
- Packet Core: Provides data plane and control plane functions for mobile broadband services. Products: CMG and CMM.
Cloud-native Network Functions (CNFs)
- Subscriber Data Management: Provides multi-technology and centralized network subscriber data and service management. Products: SDL, UDM-AUSF, HLR-HSS, EIR.
- Policy and Signaling: Determines the resources and services that can be used to support connected devices and controls the signaling within and between the core networks. Products: NPC, CSD and AAA.
- Packet Core: Provides data plane and control plane functions for mobile broadband services. Products: CMG, CMM and CNRD.
Empowering CSPs: Strategic Benefits of the VMware & Nokia Collaboration
This collaboration between VMware and Nokia is not just about technical validation, it’s about delivering real, measurable value to Communication Service Providers (CSPs) who are under constant pressure to modernize their infrastructure, reduce operational risk, and accelerate time-to-market.
VMware Telco Cloud Platform 5.0 introduces a streamlined, carrier-grade foundation that simplifies the lifecycle management of both virtual and containerized network functions. With enhanced automation via Workflow Hub, multi-version Kubernetes support, and advanced cluster and infrastructure orchestration, CSPs benefit from faster upgrades, improved uptime, and increased agility.
By validating Nokia’s Cloud Network Functions on VMware Telco Cloud Platform 5.0, CSPs gain:
- A faster path to deploy and scale next-generation telco services
- A trusted, pre-tested combination of network functions and infrastructure
- De-risked deployments, with reduced integration and compatibility issues
- Streamlined upgrades with automated lifecycle management.
- Improved operational resilience and agility, driven by automation and orchestration
- A strategic foundation for 5G evolution, edge computing, and emerging use cases
- Long Term Support (LTS) for Telco Cloud Platform 5.0, offering enhanced platform stability, extended maintenance, and predictable lifecycle support for production environments
With both VMware and Nokia providing dedicated technical resources, CSPs benefit from a deeply aligned, future-ready solution stack that reduces integration complexity and delivers consistent, reliable performance at scale.
Shaping the Future of Telecom Networks
As the industry moves toward more cloud-native, software-defined networks, collaborations like this one between VMware and Nokia are essential. The upgrade of Nokia’s centralized VMware lab and the validation of its latest CNFs on Telco Cloud Platform 5.0 are setting the standard to support workloads on VMware Telco Cloud Platform.
VMware and Nokia remain committed to continuous collaboration throughout 2025 and beyond, helping shape the next generation of high-performing, agile, and resilient telecom networks.
