Fujitsu Accelerates 5G and Edge Computing Services in Series of Connectivity Trials with Microsoft

As part of its showcase at MWC Barcelona 23, Fujitsu today revealed its progress in a series of connectivity trials conducted in cooperation with Microsoft Corporation (hereinafter Microsoft) to verify the connectivity between Fujitsu's 5G network technology and Microsoft Azure private MEC (1). The trials, which align with Fujitsu's broader efforts to realize a digital society and co-create new business based on private 5G (2), kicked off in July 2022 at the 5G-focused "FUJITSU Collaboration Lab" (3) testing facility in Kawasaki, Japan. Following the success of its initial demonstrations, Fujitsu will conduct future verification trials in fiscal 2023 at a planned verification facility in Birmingham, UK, with preliminary activities at the site starting from March 2023. With the expansion of these trials to the European market, Fujitsu aims to further accelerate business co-creation with customers based on private 5G services on a global scale.

Figure 1: Equipment configuration image of the private 5G platform constructed during the verification trials Figure 2: Image of the planned private 5G platform

By combining Fujitsu's 5G technology including base stations and applications, with Microsoft's Azure Private 5G Core (4), a solution for telecommunication carriers and enterprises, Fujitsu successfully built and operated one of Japan's first private 5G platform in a commercial environment in its initial trial (5). The new platform enables stable communications and responds flexibly to network and application loads, without requiring complicated management or configuration.

"As one of our key partners, Fujitsu has been working with Microsoft to create a seamless and secure connected society by combining private 5G and edge computing. We are very pleased with the success of this verification, and we will continue to provide connected value to the global market by combining our market-leading 5G solutions and managed services with Microsoft's Azure private MEC service. As 5G, digital, and edge computing convergence advance, these technologies will also play a key role in enabling rich customer experiences. We will continue to work with Microsoft to support the digital transformation and growth of our customers," said Koji Arai, Head of Uvance Hybrid IT, Fujitsu Limited.

"Microsoft is extending computing capabilities from the cloud to the edge with private 5G and a modern connected application system. Microsoft Azure private MEC enables industry leaders like Fujitsu to deliver high-performance application experiences to employees and customers when and where they need them," said Shriraj Gaglani, Vice President Product Management at Microsoft.

Moving forward, Fujitsu plans to develop a unified platform that enables integration of all solutions from 5G base stations to edge applications leveraging Azure private MEC, providing services that offer new value to customers through digital transformation and contribute to the solution of societal issues.

Fujitsu will continue to promote "Hybrid IT" to realize digital infrastructure for a connected society, a Key Focus Area under Fujitsu Uvance, Fujitsu's portfolio of global solutions to achieve a sustainable world.

Fujitsu will present this initiative at its booth at MWC Barcelona 2023 held in Spain from Monday, February 27, 2023 to Thursday, March 2.

Reliable and stable network connections play an increasingly important role in today's digital society, playing a central role in an ecosystem of connected, cutting-edge enterprise applications. Private 5G has been gaining particular attention as one of the solutions that support those applications. Current private 5G solutions require expertise and know-how and remain complex to manage, with set up alone taking several months in some cases. Private 5G solutions must also offer commercial users the flexibility to scale up or down according to their business needs.