Red Hat OpenShift: Enabling a resilient 5G autonomous edge for Telenor with AxyomCore

5G networks are increasingly deployed as cloud-native platforms, enabling network functions to run consistently across central datacenters, regional sites, and the far edge of the network. This distributed model supports autonomous edge architectures, where traffic can be processed locally and essential services are maintained even when connectivity to the central network is disrupted.

Supporting distributed 5G standalone (SA) and nonstandalone (NSA) environments requires more than cloud-native network functions (CNFs). The 5G core and its underlying platform must support distributed deployment, automated lifecycle management, resilience, and predictable scaling, while maintaining operational consistency across sites.

Red Hat OpenShift, the industry’s leading hybrid cloud application platform powered by Kubernetes, serves as the foundation for AxyomCore’s cloud-native 5G core. AxyomCore’s network functions have been validated, qualified, and deployed in production on Red Hat OpenShift. This horizontal approach allows Telenor to run critical 5G control-plane and user-plane functions (UPFs) consistently from the core to the far edge. AxyomCore’s 5G core functions, running on Red Hat OpenShift, have also been demonstrated on Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services, giving telecommunications service providers flexibility in their mobile core deployments.

Use case: Autonomous edge

Mobile core networks have been designed around centralized control-plane and user-plane functions. While effective in many environments, this model can create resilience challenges when remote sites depend on backhaul connectivity to reach the central core.

In remote communities, industrial sites, public safety environments, and other hard-to-reach locations, outages caused by storms, fiber cuts, or extreme geography can interrupt the voice, data, and operational services people and organizations depend on.

Telenor, a leading international telecommunications company, addressed this challenge with a distributed 5G core architecture supported by AxyomCore running on Red Hat OpenShift. The architecture enables a remote site to continue operating locally when connectivity to the central network is lost.

The deployment includes a central core in Fornebu, Norway, and an on-premise edge core in Svalbard, which are approximately 2,000 km apart. AxyomCore provides the cloud-native 5G core network functions, including the control-plane and user-plane capabilities required for autonomous operation at the edge.

During normal operation, subscriber data, policies, and configurations are synchronized between the 2 sites. If the backhaul connection is disrupted, the edge core automatically takes over, allowing the site to continue operating as a local autonomous 5G network without manual intervention.

Red Hat OpenShift provides the common application platform layer for running AxyomCore’s CNFs across central and edge environments. Its automation and lifecycle-management capabilities simplify how service providers deploy and manage services consistently across distributed sites—especially in locations where local resources and operational support may be limited.

AxyomCore’s edge-ready 5G core, running on Red Hat OpenShift, supports:

• Local service continuity during network isolation.
• A local UPF with local breakout.
• Low-latency access to local applications and services.
• Autonomous operation during backhaul outages.
• Deployment in environments with limited space and resources.
• Mission-critical and edge-based use cases.

Figure 1. Red Hat OpenShift and AxyomCore 5G architecture overview. (Image created by AxyomCore.) 

The local breakout user plane function (LBO UPF) is particularly important for latency-sensitive applications. Keeping traffic at the edge through local breakout provides significantly lower application latency. This lets service providers avoid unnecessary routing through the central network and support applications, such as real-time video, remote control, monitoring systems, private networks, and industrial operations.

By enabling autonomous edge operation, this distributed 5G core architecture helps Telenor: 

• Maintain local connectivity during extended outages. 
• Support critical services in remote environments to reduce isolation. 
• Reduce the operational risks of relying solely on centralized network infrastructure.

To learn more about how Red Hat OpenShift enables distributed 5G core deployments and autonomous edge operation, read How to build your 5G core and RAN architecture.