Persistent unveils private 5G Lab

Persistent Systems recently inaugurated a state-of-the-art 5G Lab to provide a testing and development environment for network functions and product development activities for operators and network equipment vendors, as well as for communications, media, and IoT independent software vendors (ISVs). The Lab encourages interoperability and quick deployment to achieve faster monetisation of 5G solutions. It will provide a setup to test end-to-end industry use cases in multi-cloud orchestration, Open RAN, MEC, and more.

The 5G Lab in Pune, India, was inaugurated by Matt Price, Vice President of Engineering, Provider Mobility at Cisco Systems. The Lab will allow developers to conduct operator trials and integration tests. In addition, the Lab environment provides resources for quickly validating and improving interoperability and system-generated tests for pre-operator testing.

The Lab’s primary focus is to facilitate the development of products and services that can take advantage of 5G’s capabilities. It includes testing and demonstrating the ability of 5G applications to operate in a network environment that provides high-speed connectivity, low latency, and high reliability. The Lab provides a platform for 5G application providers to showcase their products and services, as well as demonstrate how 5G can enhance user experience and drive business growth.

According to a report by Juniper Research, over 80% of global operator-billed revenue is expected to be attributable to 5G connections by 2027. The report also projected that the number of 5G connections will grow to reach 3.2 billion by 2026, up from 310 million in 2020. The report further suggests that 5G network deployments will accelerate in the coming years, with more countries and service providers launching 5G networks to meet the growing demand for high-speed and low-latency services.

Persistent’s 5G Lab will unite flagship network OEMs, ISVs, and a team of experts from Persistent's ecosystem to enable and support application providers with market-leading open-source solutions in a multi-vendor 5G test environment. The Lab supports the latest 5G-powered scenarios, including network slice management for private 5G, AI-powered closed loop autonomous network management, full stack observability, and industrial IoT. This initiative by Persistent and Cisco will enable key partners to showcase their 5G solutions and the impact of 5G on the industry.

Kuljesh Puri, Senior Vice President & General Manager – Communications, Media & Technology, Persistent, comments: “The primary objective of Persistent's 5G Lab is to enable Telecom clients to achieve faster time-to-market for their 5G solutions. The cutting-edge 5G Lab will empower operators as well as network and device OEMs by providing top-tier open-source solutions that offer a multi-vendor 5G test environment. We look forward to our partnership with Cisco to drive this initiative forward.”

Matt Price, Vice President – Engineering, Provider Mobility, Cisco Systems, adds: “The global rollout of 5G is progressing rapidly, with the need for mMTC and uRLLC support for IoT use cases. As the demand for private 5G increases and IoT use cases become more advanced, there is a need for more innovative IoT solutions to be developed. This is where Persistent’s 5G Lab comes in, providing an end-to-end ecosystem for 5G & IoT engineering, testing, and deployment.”