It is important for telecommunications service providers to adopt a consistent and consolidated horizontal cloud-native platform across their diverse environments. This cloud allows them to use the same infrastructure for multiple use cases and reduces management and operating expenses. According to the ACG Research report sponsored by Red Hat, open horizontal platforms can reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) by up to 30% compared to vertically integrated, siloed Virtualized Radio Access Network (vRAN) deployments. By adopting this horizontal approach, customers gain access to more options and improved service.
 
As part of the collaboration, Red Hat's proven hybrid cloud portfolio will be leveraged, including Red Hat OpenShift, Red Hat OpenStack Platform, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, and Red Hat OpenShift Container Storage. In addition, this collaboration will also utilize Samsung's 5G vRAN, vCore, MEC, and management and analytics capabilities to help service providers scale 5G-based use cases, such as edge computing, which can positively impact customer experience.
 
The next wave of virtualization in 5G RANs 
With this solution, service providers can leverage the advantages of edge computing and vRAN. The ACG report, sponsored by Red Hat, reveals that using a common horizontal infrastructure across both the 5G core and edge computing allows service providers to increase the TCO benefits achieved with horizontal core designs through their existing infrastructure. Furthermore, horizontal cloud deployment across vRAN sites enables service providers to support new applications and services based on location awareness, reduced latency, and the scalability offered by the distributed cloud.
 
 
Samsung's 5G solutions join Red Hat OpenShift
Containerization (CNFs) and virtualization of network functions (VNFs) are a transformative path for today's telecom companies, offering greater service flexibility and a faster delivery mechanism for new offerings. As such, Samsung has received Red Hat-validated VNF certification and plans to achieve full CNF certification. This is the highest level for mission-critical network functions on Red Hat OpenShift and certifies that CNF providers with critical workloads can now run cloud-native applications on Red Hat OpenShift. Customers can access the full capabilities of 5G and edge computing with certified solutions.