en.Wedoany.com Reported - Tune Talk has deployed a cloud-native 5G core network, running Nokia's full-stack 5G core software on AWS public cloud infrastructure.
The implementation adopts a unique hybrid cloud topology. The control plane is hosted in the AWS Malaysia region, leveraging the scalability of the central cloud; the user plane runs locally on AWS Outposts at the network edge to meet stringent telecom latency constraints while maintaining high throughput.
The edge deployment is based on bare metal instances running the AWS Nitro architecture. Nitro isolates virtualization functions, dedicating hardware resources directly to containerized network functions (CNFs), thereby ensuring performance, security, and resilience.
The underlying infrastructure integrates Nokia's telecom software with AWS infrastructure, covering user data management, session management, and policy control functions, which are containerized and managed via an orchestration platform. To tune this environment, the team deployed the first AWS RP gateway in Southeast Asia, with deep engineering collaboration between Nokia and AWS to meet stringent carrier-grade availability metrics in a shared public cloud environment.
Phased migration and the shift to agentic automation. The transition from a standard local MVNO to a network architecture supporting full mobile network operator (MNO) capabilities was achieved through a phased migration strategy. The engineering team first migrated legacy workloads to standard cloud infrastructure as a baseline environment. This phase was not cloud-native, serving only to stabilize operations, before rewriting the rules for a hyper-cloud environment with Nokia and Mavenir.
Managing the distributed cloud continuum requires a radical overhaul of traditional operations. Tune Talk introduced an agentic AI framework powered by AWS Agent Core Bedrock to manage day-2 operations. The system uses agentic workflows to perform automated root cause analysis (RCA) within the network architecture, identifying faults in multi-tenant environments without manual log inspection. When traffic surges in a specific region, the AI intervenes to instantly scale infrastructure capacity. It also handles in-service software upgrades (ISSU), enabling Tune Talk to patch core network components without interrupting active user sessions. This effectively transforms a standard CI/CD pipeline into a self-healing, proactive operations layer.
Densification breakthrough with autonomous small cells. With the core network, OSS, and BSS running in the cloud, Tune Talk has shifted its focus to network densification. The company plans to deploy 80,000 to 100,000 autonomous small cells across Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia to address major blind spots in the local 5G landscape. These self-installing, plug-and-play units can be installed by end-users themselves, connecting via Ethernet to a standard home router. A centralized self-organizing network (SON) manages the infrastructure from day one, automatically configuring neighbor relations and handling interference without the need for on-site technician intervention. The infrastructure operates as an open access network, allowing other regional telecom providers to offload traffic, transforming proprietary coverage into a shared national public utility.
As early as December 2024, Tune Talk was adding 50,000 users per month; after the cloud-native setup ran smoothly, this figure surged to up to 15,000 new registrations per day. The upcoming small cells pave the way for another infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) monetization network—when users from other networks connect to a leased small cell, the host generates passive income from traffic offloading, creating economic incentives for consumers and driving network densification.
Greenfield advantages and brownfield risks. Greenfield operators and agile MVNOs globally can learn from this deployment: new entrants unburdened by legacy technical debt can adopt the public cloud model, eliminating massive upfront capital expenditure, closely aligning operational costs with active user revenue, and significantly shortening the time to launch advanced 5G services. Brownfield operators face a more difficult path, with their vast legacy hardware networks representing billions in historical capital investment. Migrating millions of active users to a public cloud core introduces significant operational risks, necessitating the maintenance of complex hybrid models and the gradual offloading of non-critical functions. Tune Talk's production deployment proves that public cloud infrastructure can successfully support mission-critical, high-growth telecom workloads.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
