Telstra partners with AWS and Nokia on network resiliency trial

Telstra has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Nokia on a hybrid network architecture resiliency trial of Nokia’s IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) software.

The trial aimed to build resilience and reliability in Telstra’s fixed and mobile network to provide continuity of voice services during unplanned network interruptions.

It involved orchestrating and delivering another IMS from a different supplier using cloud technology to keep voice services working.

The Nokia IMS was deployed on AWS via a hot standby set up, where dynamic scaling of the IMS in the cloud for both infrastructure and application capacity was available.

“Telstra has a long history of global and domestic network leadership and innovation,” said Shailin Sehgal, Telstra Network Applications and Cloud executive.

"The deployment and completion of our IMS trial with Nokia on AWS is a strong demonstration of what is possible from our strategic collaboration."

“For us, success is delivering an incredible experience for our customers. This means leading the way with new technology and services, which can only be done by collaborating closely with AWS to leverage their world class cloud infrastructure, which offers a secure, consistent and reliable environment for our applications.”

Telstra said the trial showed the potential for on-demand capacity in an unplanned network disruption scenario.

When deployed at scale this will provide enhanced network resiliency by allowing call control to be supported by the cloud, rather than experiencing a network disruption.

“This dynamic network management means that if one part of the network goes down, the network can autonomously adjust its configuration to ensure the smallest possible number of customers and services are affected," Sehgal said.

"The trial has been a huge success and the learnings and achievements we’ve gained will be invaluable as we continue developments in this area."

“It’s another way we’re building a more resilient network and working to keep our customers connected if unplanned network events occur.”

Telstra is now working with AWS and Nokia on expanding the trial beyond voice over LTE on IMS to include full scale of network provided services.

“We’ve been on a journey to help Telstra and its customers adopt cloud-native technologies to increase their pace of innovation and productivity,” said Chivas Nambiar, GM of AWS' telco business unit.

"[The successful trial] with Nokia means Telstra can further improve their network’s resiliency and availability through the on-demand scale and flexibility of AWS."

"We’re pleased to see the successful trial will help Telstra protect and enhance their customer experience and service delivery if an unplanned disruption occurs."