MTN South Africa gained greater session, mobility management and policy control capabilities in a core network upgrade vendor Ericsson stated lays a path towards a future deployment of standalone (SA) 5G.

Solomzi Mnyaka, the operator’s general manager of Network Services Engineering and L2 Support (pictured, front, left of centre), said it advanced its goal to build an up-to-date network capable of meeting customer needs which is adaptable for future developments.

MTN deployed Ericsson’s cloud-native policy controller and packet core gateway, providing it with a dual-mode 5G set up Mnyaka said hastens its responsiveness and ability to deploy fresh services.

Ericsson stated MTN is the first operator in Africa to employ its Cloud Core Policy Controller (CCPC) in a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) configuration.

The approach provides the ability to put real-time dynamic policies into action, initially on non-standalone 5G but with compatibility for a future SA edition.

MTN deployed the vendor’s cloud-native packet core and user management functions during the opening half of the year as part of a broader network modernisation deal its parent company agreed with Ericsson in early 2024.

Ericsson stated the work is already paying off, delivering a world first In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) on its Packet Core Gateway node with a collocated firewall without interrupting the 2.5 million users active on the network at the time.

A Container-as-a-Service Rolling Upgrade on a relevant platform was also handled while 2 million active sessions were taking place. Ericsson branded the deployment as a “key milestone” in MTN’s automation journey.

Sandile Dhlomo, head of Ericsson South Africa (pictured, front, right of centre), said it provided MTN with a “more flexible and automated policy framework that supports monetisation, network evolution and enriched user experiences”.