Ericsson starting from scratch with 4G packet core

Ever since Ericsson (NYSE:ERIC) bought Redback Networks, the vendor has intimated that it would build its future IP networks, both wireless and wireline, on the IP foundations of its now not-so-recent acquisition.

But over the last three years, Ericsson has continued its partnership with Juniper Networks (NASDAQ:JNPR), Redback’s former rival, for its 2G and 3G packet cores. With the advent of 4G, Ericsson is now ready to make the leap from Juniper’s hardware to Redback’s SmartEdge platform, but Ericsson chief technology officer Håkan Eriksson said Ericsson isn’t ready to abandon its partnership with Juniper just yet.

Eriksson said the vendor will have dual product portfolios: One will be the 2G and 3G GPRS gateway serving node (GGSN) built on Juniper router hardware, while the other will be its long-term evolution (LTE) evolved packet core, which is being developed entirely in house. Redback’s SmartEdge will be the backbone hardware of its serving gateway (or S-gateways) and packet data node gateway (or P-gateway) for the LTE core, and that architecture will be deployed with Ericsson’s first customer Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ, NYSE:VOD) this year, Eriksson said.

“We have many customers who are happy with the current solution, and we will continue to support them,” Eriksson said. “We’re still building 2G and 3G networks. In those cases, we might go into the network with the Juniper-Ericsson platform.”

While Ericsson may eventually move its 3G packet core to the SmartEdge platform, Eriksson said the reverse won’t be the case with 4G. The evolved packet core will be based entirely on Ericsson technology from day one, he said.

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU) and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) have taken similar approaches to the 4G core, starting with high-powered IP routers and building the 4G network’s mobility functions on top of them.

Alcatel-Lucent is developing its S-and P-gateways in its IP group, not the wireless infrastructure group, using its workhorse 7750 service router as the principle hardware. Cisco also developed its 3G and 4G gateways as a software upgrades to its routers, but its packet core strategy is about to make a radical turn. The networking giant announced last month that it would buy Starent Networks (NASDAQ:STAR), a specialty vendor that has developed a purpose-built core that has proved popular with operators around the world, including Verizon Wireless.