3GPP compliant 4G and 5G core
Complete EPC and 5GC with optional WiFi management.
Pacewave Core
A 3GPP-compliant 4G and 5G core with complete EPC and 5GC and optional WiFi management. One core for every access type, deployed on site, in the cloud or across many sites.
99.999%
Control plane availability at the edge
4G · 5G · WiFi
One core for every access type
1 + 1
Active core with a resilient standby core
Core network capability
CUPS architecture
Control and user planes scale vertically and horizontally.
IMS support
Voice and multimedia services supported by the core.
Enterprise integration
REST API for voice, alarm and business process integration, plus SIP handling for IP PABX interoperability.
Web-based management
Browser-based management designed for the ICT manager.
High availability
99.999% edge availability with a resilient standby core.
Core network architecture
Every access type connects to one Pacewave Core. Select a network function to see its role and interfaces.
Access
Pacewave Core
Integrations
WiFi
WiFi access
LTE
EPC (4G)
gNB · Option 3 (NSA)
User plane
Sxa · Sxb from the EPC gateways · N4 from the SMF
Destination network
Internet or your private network
gNB · Option 2 (SA)
5GC
REST API
Voice integration
Alarm integration
Business process integration
Select a network function
Tap or hover any function in the core to see what it does and which interfaces it uses.
Note: Actual deployment may involve disparate or combined functions within a product depending on requirements.
- Control-plane function
- Subscriber data
- User plane
- Signalling & traffic (bi-directional)
Network functions
| Network function | Role in the Pacewave core | Key interfaces |
|---|---|---|
| AMF | 5G access and mobility management | N2 · N8 · N11 |
| SMF | 5G session management and control of the UPF | N4 · N7 · N11 |
| UPF | 5G user plane, scales independently of the control plane (CUPS) | N3 · N4 · N6 |
| SGW-U / PGW-U | 4G user plane, scales independently of the control plane (CUPS) | S1-U · Sxa · Sxb · SGi |
| UDM / HSS | Subscriber data and authentication for 5G and 4G | N8 · S6a |
| PCF / PCRF | Policy and charging control for 5G and 4G | N7 · Gx |
| MME | 4G mobility management and signalling | S1-MME · S6a · S11 |
| SGW-CP / PGW-CP | 4G gateway control plane, controlling SGW-U / PGW-U | S11 · Sxa · Sxb |
| SMSF | SMS over NAS for 5G devices | N20 |
| TWAP / TWAG / AAA | Trusted WiFi access, authentication and tunnelling | Radius · EoGRE · STa |
| IMS | Voice and multimedia services | N6/SGi |
Interface names follow 3GPP reference-point naming. Actual deployment may involve disparate or combined products depending on requirements.
Deployment models
Three key options, with variants possible on each.
A
All-in-one, on site or in the cloud
Control and user plane run together as one core, hosted on the customer site or in the cloud.
Pacewave Core
4G EPC
MMESGW-CPPGW-CPHSSPCRF
5GC
AMFSMFUDMPCFSMSF
User plane
SGW-U / PGW-UUPFIMSWiFi · AAA
B
Centralised control, distributed gateways
One control plane manages the user plane at each site, so traffic breaks out locally.
Central control
AMF · SMF · MME
HSS / UDM · PCF
- User plane · Site 1Local breakout
- User plane · Site 2Local breakout
- User plane · Site 3Local breakout
C
Active–standby
A second standby core takes over if the active core fails, for 99.999% availability.
RAN
Active core
Control planeUser plane
State sync · 99.999% availability
Standby core
Control planeUser plane
Flexible deployment models
Centralised and flexible licensing, centralised or distributed device management, and scalability for capacity and throughput.
Private network over multiple sites
Run one private network across many sites, with multi-tenant capability.
Central management
Central management of licences, subscribers, billing, assurance and fulfilment.
Note: Actual deployment may involve disparate or combined functions within a product depending on requirements.
Pricing comparison
Illustrative three-year total cost of ownership (AUD) against Tier 1 vendors.
- Year 1
- Years 2–3 (mostly OPEX)
View as table
| Solution component | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | 3-yr TCO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 Core | 250,000 | 80,000 | 80,000 | 410,000 |
| Pacewave Voice Core | 184,800 | 19,800 | 19,800 | 224,400 |
| Pacewave Data Core | 35,000 | 15,000 | 15,000 | 65,000 |
| Tier 1 Radio | 80,000 | 14,000 | 14,000 | 108,000 |
| Pacewave 4G Radio | 8,000 | 1,200 | 1,200 | 10,400 |
| Pacewave 5G Radio | 20,000 | 1,500 | 1,500 | 23,000 |
- Illustrative costs in AUD. Years 2–3 are primarily OPEX. Costs are based on practical considerations and can vary significantly with dimensioning and functionality.
- Pacewave has multiple partner products, loosely grouped into those that support native voice (IMS based) and data (“Pacewave Voice Core”) and data only (“Pacewave Data Core”).
Talk to us about your core
Get in touch
We’ll help you choose the right deployment model, dimension it for your sites and integrate it with your voice, alarm and business systems.