Vodafone has announced the successful completion of a trial using Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud infrastructure to run key internet of things (IoT) voice and data network services on Nokia core systems.
The purpose of the trial was to support the European comms operator’s aim to add extra capacity in days by using a cloud-based architecture that scales with demand, further extending its reach with additional points of presence to deliver services to more customers on a worldwide basis.
In phase one, Vodafone, Nokia and AWS deployed a proof of concept of Nokia’s mobile data core and voice core on AWS cloud infrastructure in Frankfurt, Germany, integrating with network components in Vodafone datacentres across several European countries.
The trial included support for IoT services on Nokia’s IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) for voice applications, such as emergency calling in vehicles and elevators, and on Nokia’s Packet Core for data services, such as smart metering for utilities. Both voice and packet core’s cloud-native network functions were hosted on AWS cloud infrastructure. The next phase will address security and sovereignty ahead of commercial trials later this year.
In establishing the project, Vodafone, Nokia and AWS assessed lifecycle management, integration with the operator’s existing systems and operational performance. They also evaluated costs and potential new business opportunities enabled by using the AWS public cloud for Vodafone’s global managed IoT connectivity platform.
The collaboration also supported Vodafone’s multicloud strategy by using Nokia’s cloud‑native network functions operating on AWS infrastructure. This includes Amazon’s cloud platform Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) for managing containers that bundle and run applications, and Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) for compute workloads. The architecture was designed to deliver the elasticity, scalability and operational agility that modern telecommunications networks require.
Vodafone believes the option to incorporate large cloud provider infrastructure into its future architecture will allow it to further strengthen its global managed IoT connectivity platform, which currently has more than 240 million connections worldwide.
Vodafone’s director of network strategy and architecture, Marco Zangani, said the multicloud strategy would give the operator greater agility to capitalise on advances in technology, such as the rise of agentic AI, to enhance the customer experience. “By validating AWS as an effective infrastructure option for network functions, we can introduce services faster, leaving more time for experimentation and innovation,” he remarked.
Kal De, senior vice-president of core networks at Nokia, said the supplier was committed to advancing connectivity by helping telecommunication providers transform their networks through cloud-native solutions. “This successful trial with Vodafone and AWS demonstrates how our voice (IMS) and data (mobile core) solutions can leverage public cloud infrastructure to deliver carrier-grade performance while enabling greater operational flexibility. The result is a more scalable service, to more customers, at times when it’s needed the most,” said De.
Fabio Cerone, managing director of the EMEA telco business unit at AWS, said the trial demonstrates his company’s commitment to providing the secure, scalable and high-performance infrastructure telcos need to run their most critical network workloads in the cloud. “This solution shows how telcos can redefine their operating models through full automation and elasticity at scale,” added Cerone.
