[Barcelona, Spain, February 27, 2018] At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018, China Mobile published the SPN Technical White Paper and jointly released 5G bearer innovations with Huawei. This white paper, oriented towards 5G bearer networks, is the industry's first systematic review of 5G services. It analyzes the bearer network architecture and key technologies in depth and proposes constructive development paths to promote 5G development.

Slicing Packet Network (SPN) is a next-generation converged bearer network architecture based on the Ethernet kernel. Proposed by China Mobile, SPN introduces an innovative 5G bearer-oriented technology system. The white paper details the SPN architecture and key technologies, including SDN centralized management and control, large-capacity optical layer technology, efficient Ethernet networking, soft and hard network slicing, and flexible connections etc.. According to the white paper, the SPN network model consists of the slicing packet layer (SPL), slicing channel layer (SCL), and slicing transport layer (STL). These three layers, coupled with the time and clock synchronization module and the management and control module, implement comprehensive services bearing with high bandwidth, low latency, and high efficiency.

In recent years, Huawei has invested heavily in 5G and made significant contributions to the research, development, and validation of key technologies for bearer networks, particularly 50GE interfaces, network slicing, and flexible connections. As early as 2016, Huawei took the lead in proposing FlexE 2.0 requirements at the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) and continuously promoted the initiation of projects and formulation of drafts regarding FlexE standards among international standards organizations. In 2017, Huawei, together with upstream and downstream industry chains, held an industry development conference on the key technology of 50GE interfaces at Shenzhen China International

Optoelectronic Exposition to jointly promote the 5G commercial process. In addition, Huawei and China Mobile conducted multiple tests and productized the 50GE FlexE network slicing, SPN commercial prototype, high-precision clock, and Segment Routing (SR) flexible connections to ensure that the 5G SPN bearer technologies are mature and ready for commercial use.

Li Han, Deputy Director of the Department of Network Technology of China Mobile Research Institute, said: "Bearer networks must be prepared for the arrival of 5G. The advent of a digital society will exert a far-reaching impact on the communications infrastructure network. The connection and traffic density will increase at an unprecedented rate. Different types of users have personalized requirements on networks, and specific industries have extremely stringent latency requirements for real-time interaction. The SPN Technical White Paper for 5G Bearer is released to keep up with the trend and meet the requirements for 5G services. In addition, the SPN technology is expected to help build bearer networks featuring 'New Architecture, New Services, and New Operations'. Multiple key SPN technologies have already been validated and are ready for commercial use at the early stage of 5G. To ensure that the commercial use of 5G is realized as soon as possible, China Mobile will work with device vendors to carry out more 5G pilot projects."

Gao Ji, President of Huawei Router & Carrier Ethernet Product Line, said: "The 5G era is on the horizon. Huawei has excelled and achieved exceptional results in both 5G standards and key technologies. X-Haul, Huawei's 5G bearer solution, fully complies with the SPN concept and effectively supports 5G bearer network construction. As we move to the future, Huawei will continue to explore and cooperate with China Mobile to jointly promote the development of the 5G industry."

Huawei will continue to increase its investments in 5G bearer and conduct further joint innovation projects with operators such as China Mobile to build sustainable 5G bearer networks and help operators achieve commercial use of 5G as soon as possible.

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