The wireless industry is in a state of transition to the next-generation 5G wireless network. In an attempt to beat other three major players — Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, Sprint Corporation S and T-Mobile US Inc. TMUS in the race for 5G, AT&T Inc. T is revamping its wireless network.
AT&T plans to roll out 60,000 white box routers over the next several years across its entire wireless network in the United States. The telco successfully completed its first live field trial with white box equipment on Mar 28, 2017.
Disaggregated Network Operating System (dNOS) will be the network operating system for the white box routers. dNOS was manufactured using the technology gained from AT&T’s acquisition of Vyatta last July. Just like its ECOMP (Enhanced Control, Orchestration, Management and Policy) software, AT&T will release dNOS as open source software across the industry via Linux Foundation.
The white box routers will be coordinated using the Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP). ONAP is an operating system for the network cloud. Tools like ONAP are vital in deploying and managing next generation ultra-fast broadband speeds. It can also be used to manage future nationwide mobile 5G network.
The white box router announcement marks AT&T’s ongoing attempts to gain strength in virtualization and open source platform. The telco is planning to replace the traditional, proprietary hardware with open source software, which can be easily upgraded and requires lesser capital expenses. Having reached 55% in 2017, AT&T expects to virtualize and software-control 65% of its network by 2018-end. The telco has raised its target level to 75% network virtualization by 2020.
Meanwhile, AT&T will deploy these routers in its 5G-equipped towers and small cells to better address the low-latency issue. AT&T is confident that a virtualized, open-source, white box approach is the best way to evolve to 5G.
Bottom Line
5G marks a revolution in the field of communications and technology. It is the next phase of mobile telecommunication standards. Since 2017, AT&T has been working hard and laying the foundation for mobile 5G network. The company has completed network upgrades in 23 major cities. Further, the telco continues to deploy and initiate 5G technology trials in several other cities. Further, AT&T announced its plans to offer standards-based mobile 5G services to consumers in various U.S. markets by late 2018.
Zacks Rank
Currently, AT&T is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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