- Telcos have been rethinking their infrastructure following recent industry M&A
- Containers, automation and AI are reshaping how networks scale and deliver services
- A new Fierce Network Research report covers how cloud-native is redefining the telco roadmap
Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware in late 2023 didn’t just reshape licensing models — it forced telcos to question long-standing assumptions about their networks. Faced with steep price hikes and new licensing restrictions, operators began looking for “exit ramps,” as one analyst put it.
That search quickly evolved into something bigger: a reappraisal of overall virtualization strategy and a growing embrace of cloud-native architectures built on containers and microservices.
“From a pure telco cloud perspective, cloud-native is the new baseline,” Shujaur Mufti, global head of Red Hat’s telco ecosystem, told Fierce Network Research in a new report, "Moving beyond virtual machines: Rethinking telco infrastructure for the AI and 5G era."
A cloud-native foundation
Unlike virtual machines, which create vertical silos, cloud-native platforms provide a shared, horizontal foundation across IT, core and RAN — essential for scaling into the 5G, AI and even 6G eras.
Orange Business CTO Mohamed Talaye calls cloud-native “an operational foundation,” noting the shift enables faster provisioning, cutting service delivery from days to minutes, and supports the move to network-as-code, where software and automation replace manual provisioning and truck rolls. Orange is already using Kubernetes and GitOps to manage lifecycles, and it’s leaning on Linux Foundation projects like Sylva to move workloads seamlessly between private and public clouds.
MetTel CTO Ed Fox sees cloud-native as the key to realizing a long-elusive dream: universal customer premises equipment (uCPE), a single device at the customer site running a full suite of network services.
Meanwhile, Proximus is taking a pragmatic approach, pushing many workloads to the public cloud but keeping certain performance-sensitive functions on dedicated gear.
But the move isn’t simple. Migrating IT workloads is relatively straightforward. Network workloads are another story. They demand higher reliability, real-time performance and deep hardware integration. And telcos must watch for “cloud-washing,” where vendors slap the cloud-native label on old VM-based code.
For telcos, the disruption triggered by Broadcom’s VMware overhaul has become an opportunity. Containers, automation, and AI aren’t just easing the transition. They’re setting the stage for a more agile, scalable future.
Read the free Fierce Network Research report to learn more about how cloud-native is transforming the telco industry: Moving beyond virtual machines: Rethinking telco infrastructure for the AI and 5G era