Case study: KPN empowers enterprise customers with on-premises 5G user plane innovation
Video courtesy of KPN
What
KPN partnered with Ericsson to address the enteprise segment and remain at the forefront of offering innovative 5G solutions.
Why
To meet enterprise customers’ expectations, there is a need for reduced latency and the ability to handle 5G data traffic locally, in line with increasingly strict security requirements.
How
KPN deployed Ericsson Local Packet Gateway, connected to the 5G Core, enabling its enterprise customers the possibility to handle their 5G data traffic completely locally and reduce latency.
“With Ericsson Local Packet Gateway we can provide a 5G network of the customer locally and ensure that all data generated never needs to leave the building. It has provided security for our customer, and it has greatly improved the response time to only 4 milliseconds, making data processing virtually real-time and improving accuracy.”
Erik Brands - VP Mobile Networks, KPN
The challenges
An increasing number of companies are interested in using mobile networks to enhance their business operations and mission-critical applications as well as fulfilling the ever-growing security requirements. Recognizing that speed and connectivity alone are insufficient for modern demands, KPN sought to leverage the combination of 5G and local breakout. By managing 5G data traffic locally, KPN wanted to reduce latency and eliminate the need for routing data through distant data centers.
The solution
KPN selected Ericsson Local Packet Gateway, which features a single server user plane function (UPF) appliance. This solution offers very low service integration costs, ensuring a competitive total cost of ownership (TCO).
The Local Packet Gateway is integrated with a local in-door RAN at KPN’s customer KLG Europe, a logistics service provider, and to central 5G Core achieving a complete 5G standalone solution. All payload traffic is routed and processed locally on-premises to ensure low latency, security and data privacy. The central 5G Core is used for authentication and user data management, thereby optimizing the component and footprint deployed on-premises.
The Local Packet Gateway is complemented by an end-to-end management and lifecycle management solution, seamlessly integrated into the KPN central network. Additionally, the common installation flow is designed to optimize deployments of new LPG instances, enhancing operational efficiency.
For higher security, the enterprise customer data is maintained on-site.
Figure 1: Ericsson Local Packet Gateway product overview
The results
Significantly improved response time by keeping data on-prem
The successful test at KLG Europe demonstrated that the new Local Packet Gateway significantly improved response time to only 4 milliseconds, making data processing virtually real-time and improving accuracy. This solution enables all mobile data to be routed directly to the customer's location, addressing the demand for local data processing and storage.
in response time, making data processing virtually real-time and improving accuracy
Lean deployment fit for purpose in any business environment
to accommodate modern demands for security
“The local 5G network with Ericsson Local Packet Gateway is an important step in the roll out of 5G standalone, starting with the enterprise segment. We will surely move further with new use cases, and we will see more and more applications of this kind.”
Erik Brands - VP Mobile Networks, KPN
