Telenor is set to commercially launch its cloud-based core network it developed with Cisco, just one of the deals the US-vendor announced on day two of Mobile World Congress.
Swedish MVNO Vimla will become the first customer of the Working Group Two platform, which the telcos built to deliver programmable networks and enhance innovation.
Sigve Brekke, President & CEO of Telenor Group, said: “WorkingGroupTwo is a Telenor innovation that we’re proud to continue evolving in collaboration with Cisco. WG2 could revolutionise the competitive landscape with its powerful platform characteristics, flexibility and speed.
“It enables fast and seamless roll-out of services across markets and networks. This could further accelerate the digitalisation of core telco businesses – and the entire industry.”
The operator is also working with Cisco in an effort to tap into emerging smart city services in Norway.
The two companies signed a Joint Purpose Agreement at Mobile World Congress that sees the operator marry its existing WiFi, WAN and mobile connectivity solutions with the Cisco Kinetic platform, which extracts, computes and moves data from connected things to various applications.
Details were sparse, but they said they planned to focus on developing business models that utilised IoT and security tech, amongst others.
Telenor Group CTO Ruza Sabanovic said: “Digitisation of societies requires new ways of working and new partnerships.
“We’re excited about taking our collaboration with Cisco to the next level, setting up a joint lab environment to explore Smart City solutions with one of Norway’s largest municipalities – exploring different approaches to connect our customers to what matters most in all stages of their daily lives.”
Meanwhile, Altice-owned SFR is deploying Cisco’s Network Services Orchestrator.
Christophe Delaye, CTIO at SFR, said: “Utilising Cisco’s leading network automation software allows us to bring a common API for our services across different networks in a simplified manner.
“As a result, enabling SFR to get back to what matters the most – supporting our customers’ network automation requirements and enabling them to deploy new services quickly.”
Should the move prove successful, the two companies hinted it could rolled out across other Altice opcos.
Finally, Cisco Jasper also globally launched its control centre for NB-IoT, which it claims is the first commercially available platform for that technology.
It offers customisable service packages according to business needs and automation to manage a large number of connected devices.
It can also control both NB-IoT and cellular devices when used with other Cisco Jasper products.
Daniel Collins, Vice President IoT Products at Cisco, said: “NB-IoT dramatically reduces the power and cost of connectivity, so now even the most simple things will be capable of delivering valuable IoT services.
“This is going to drive exponential growth in the IoT industry, and one size will not fit all.”