By 
MTN South Africa, in partnership with Ericsson, has announced the successful completion of a landmark core network modernization. The duo achieved a world-first upgrade that maintained service for millions of users without any network downtime.
RELATED: MTN, Chenosis & TransUnion launch mobile-based credit scoring to boost financial inclusion in South Africa
This initiative positions MTN’s network for the future with a fully cloud-native infrastructure. Part of the broader MTN Unified Cloud Acceleration (MUNA) program, it delivers enhanced speed, reliability, and agility for its customers.
World-First Achievement: Seamless Upgrade for Millions of Users
A key milestone of the project was the successful execution of an automated In-service Software Upgrade (ISSU) on a live Ericsson Packet Core Gateway node. This global first was completed seamlessly, with no disruption to 2.52 million active user sessions and 40 Gbps of live data traffic. This achievement underscores the robust, cloud-native nature of the new network infrastructure.
Building a Modern, Cloud-Native Core Network
The modernization involved deploying Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core solutions on its Cloud Native Infrastructure Solution (CNIS). A significant addition is the Cloud Core Policy Controller (CCPC). This marks its first deployment in Africa as a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF).
The cloud-native evolution empowers MTN to transform legacy systems, driving greater flexibility, scalability, and operational efficiency. It also lays the essential groundwork for the future introduction of a 5G Standalone (SA) core.
Zero-Downtime Deployment Demonstrates Network Resilience
Further proving the network’s robustness, MTN South Africa successfully executed a Container-as-a-Service rolling upgrade (CaaS-RU). This upgrade was completed with zero downtime while the system was handling approximately 2 million active sessions, aligning with industry best practices for continuous service availability.
A Foundation for Future Innovation
Solomzi Mnyaka, General Manager at MTN South Africa, stated: “This core network modernization marks an important step in our journey to build a modern, future-ready network. The implementation of Ericsson’s cloud-native solutions enables us to respond more quickly to customer demands, launch new services with agility, and simplify our internal processes through automation.”
This project reinforces the long-standing partnership between MTN and Ericsson, driving innovation and setting a new benchmark for network modernization in Africa.
Sandile Dhlomo, Head of Ericsson South Africa, commented: “In line with our #AfricaInMotion vision, we are shaping the future of digital connectivity. This massive core network transformation, achieved in record time, supports MTN’s shift toward a fully cloud-native core that is built for scale, resilience, and service agility, laying the groundwork for future 5G Standalone.”
