Intel and 5G - How the Chipmaker Looks to Tap into the Next Gen's Potential

The Mobile World Congress, 2021, brought significant launches from Intel. For one, it introduced its complete networking solutions, with network-optimized silicon, and software solutions for analytics, AI, Access, TSN, Telemetry and Security. Intel also claimed that nearly all the commercial vRAN deployments done in the world use its tech.

That is a huge statement, and company VP Dan Rodriguez, who takes care of the chipmaker's Network Platforms Group, reckons Intel can scale up global vRAN base station deployments from hundreds to millions.

5G is a huge market for any company that can remotely make use of it. Intel, with its silicon pedigree and chipmaking heritage, is slowing shifting its focus from traditional computer chips to powering 5G across the globe. The company already has vRAN deployments in China, Japan, the US, the UK, Latin America and Oceania. Intel has also announced strategic partnerships with telcos in Germany and India.

The hands have been dealt, and the chips bought. So how will Intel gamble on 5G?

A Change in Perspective

Intel still remains the market leader in semiconductor business with $75.7 billion net revenue. However, companies like Taiwan Semiconductors, Qualcomm and Broadcom are closing in fast on the silicon giant. In the computer chip business, Intel has lost its long-term partnership with Apple, and faces aggressive competition from AMD. As such, Intel has shifted its focus towards developing networking chips and solutions.

For now, the chipmaker dominates the global vRAN market. vRAN, or virtual Radio Access Network, is one of the various technologies companies use for deploying their network. Usually deployed on the cloud, vRAN allows for quick network deployment and optimizations. Since it is all software-based, telcos also save money that they would otherwise invest in core network infrastructure.

This transition is similar to what happened with IT networks a few years ago - it is all moving to the cloud. Telcos want a solution that allows them more flexibility and faster deployment of new services. vRAN shifts the controller functions to centralized servers from hardware base stations. This brings the edge of the network closer to the operators and allow them to optimize radio resources. With prices of everything going up, this might as well prove to be a lifeline to telcos around the world.

In short, vRAN will allow for an optimized, centralized and energy-efficient 5G rollout. It will also provide the required connectivity and performance users expect of 5G. This is one of the key reasons why cloud implementations like vRAN and Open RAN are gaining supporters from all over the world.

The US-based chipmaker looks set to switch gears and compete with the best in networking tech. For Intel, the 5G ecosystem is a gold mine; the company can tap into an estimated $65 billion edge silicon opportunity by 2025.

Intel and Friends on the 5G Scene

There are multiple partnerships that Intel has secured across the world to in 5G. The most recent of these partnerships are:

1. Reliance Jio: The largest Indian telco announced that it will partner with Intel in 5G radio and wireless core. Further, it also said that it will collaborate in other areas that include AI, cloud and edge computing. Since Reliance Jio has to deploy 5G over the coming few months, Intel hopes to power the deployment. India is one of the largest telecom markets in the world; partnering with the largest telco there can open significant revenue streams for Intel.
2. Deutsche Telekom: The German telco said that it is using Intel FlexRAN with accelerators in O-RAN Town. The telco has deployed an O-RAN network in Neubrandenburg, Germany.
3. DISH Wireless: The US telco recently deployed the first cloud-native 5G network in the US. Dish Wireless has also said that it will keep using Intel's solutions in their further 5G deployment across the US.
4. Cohere: The company has been working on improving spectrum utilization by leveraging capabilities in FlexRAN. As such, Cohere has shown that FlexRAN can increase spectrum utilization by 100% for its operators. UK-based Vodafone has also replicated these results testing the 700 MHz band in its labs.

Intel has built strategic partnerships to increase its own expertise in 5G. With huge telcos on board, the chipmaker has assured market capture in Germany, the US and most importantly, India. In India, two of the three largest telcos are advocated of vRAN and Open RAN 5G deployment; both Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have voiced their support. These two have a combined user base of 814.92 million - more than the entire population of Europe.

Coming to the Scene All Guns Blazing

Intel is banking on its network connectivity product line to propel its 5G business. These products include the Xeon, Xeon D and Atom processors, Optane memory, Agilex and eASIC network accelerators, ethernet and SI Photonics connectivity hardware, and FlexRAN - its own vRAN solution.

Not only this, the chipmaker also has optimized its computer hardware to double up as network hardware. The Core series processors, the Iris Graphics and Optane SSD are the three products Intel plans to use as its network silicon.

The company has also introduced a number of software solutions, which include Developer Access, MEC Toolkits, and Sector Ecosystem solutions and kits. Further, the company also has created a software portfolio for edge infrastructure. Intel estimates that by 2023, 75% data will have originated from the edge - the end user applications. Thus, edge computing, AI and Analytics become essential for telcos. As such, Intel's software solutions, which include its signature FlexRAN for 5G, look to provide the telcos with the same.

The chipmaker has shown willingness and promise to adapt to the dynamic 5G ecosystem. It has created quite possibly the most diverse silicon infrastructure. What's more, its vRAN implementation, the FlexRAN, is already in use across the globe. Telecom leaders like Verizon, Vodafone and AT&T are using Intel's network solutions.

And it has started to pay dividends for the company. In the last fiscal, the company saw $6 billion in revenue from its network silicon business. Intel has already claimed 40% share in 5G infrastructure, as per its annual reports.

Talking with 511 IT decision makers, Intel reported that the ITDMs feel that 5G holds more promise than there is talk about. 66% of them said so, saying they most hope the technology will bring innovation, flexibility and openness, and monetization opportunities (33%) to their organizations.

Intel's looking to capture the market and further extend its lead at the top, but there are issues that they must address.

Challenges Abound

Telcos are ready to shell out on compute - CPUs, yes, but also GPUs and FPGAs - rather than memory or networking.  However, this does not change the fact that these operators are looking at a 25% data volume increase per year at data centers. Sadly budgets can't grown at this rate. Usually, networking costs are around 10% of a distributed system - companies get uncomfortable when they reach around 15%.

This is a fact that Intel has to keep in the front when designing networking solutions. The telcos will demand not only competitive pricing, but the integrations as well. Intel can bank on the fact that its FlexRAN can save spectrum costs - and apart from that, the chipmaker has little to show. This pressure will be immense on Intel, who must look to innovate. Again, integrations will prove key to the chipmaker's endeavor to achieve that.

To that extent, at the most recent round of announcements, Intel has brought out several integrations. Intel Smart Edge is one of the most important solutions. Intel's Commercial and Open MEC toolkits will prove vital for telcos looking to integrate edge computing in their networks. Since more and more data comes from the edge, this becomes especially valuable for telcos, who are looking to take all of their network to the cloud. Its automation solutions also let network operators reach their customers faster - another integration announced at the MWC 2021.

Closing Thoughts

Intel has almost everything going for them as they look to take over the vRAN ecosystem. It has a wide variety of networking silicon - ranging from CPUs to Memory, and a vast variety of software solutions. With edge computing, Intel has made its networking solution more lucrative for telcos and other network operators - data is precious for everyone.

All the chipmaker needs to do is keep at it.