NFV and NFV-based Security Services 353
We believe that the efforts around SDN and NFV are part of an overall move towards
a cloud model of developing, deploying, operating and monetizing operators’ infrastructure, services – and increasingly, content. It is not coincidental that 5G and NFV
happen at the same time. Going back to the NGMN Alliance’s white paper on 5G goals,
we can see that operators in the era of 5G do much more than provide a faster wireless
pipe; 5G is much more than a speed dial‐up from 4G. NFV, SDN and cloud technologies
are integral to 5G. A telco cloud, in this sense, is the adoption of a cloud model in all
aspects of an operator’s business, and NFV and SDN are components of the strategy to
move telco infrastructure, operational processes, and business models to that vision.
To summarize, we will primarily use the simple term NFV in this chapter in a broad
and forward‐looking context.
15.5 Common NFV Drivers
In this section, we briefly look at some common NFV drivers and use cases and how
they relate to 5G and 5G security.
15.5.1 Technology Curve
Developing custom products for the telecom industry is a costly business. This cost
shows up in the extraordinary long technology cycles. It is common for this process to
take a decade or more from R&D to commonly‐deployed services for customers. This
cost also shows up in the proprietary systems such as gateways, switches, routers, and
operating systems, middle‐ware, and applications. The hardware is slower to upgrade
because of this cost, which deprives the industry of the full benefits of Moore Law in
silicon improvements. Its customized operating systems, tool chains, and middle‐layer
and application software do not fully take advantage of rapid software and methodology
advancements, such as distributed system algorithms, distributed or NoSQL data bases,
programmable APIs, Big Data, and machine learning, just to name a few. Other segments of the IT industry have taken leaps and bounds with these software technologies,
which the telecom industry cannot readily adopt because of the proprietary approach it
has taken. There are, of course, unique problems in the telecom industry, such as real‐
time constraints and high reliability needs. But the question is, can we achieve these
based on standard COTS (common off‐the‐shelf ) hardware and modern software technologies? The answer is not only yes, but that we must. NFV can help the telecom
industry not only ride the technology curve but lead it.
15.5.2 Opportunity Cost and Competitive Landscape
Proprietary systems are not only costly to develop but also slow to adapt to new customer needs and too inflexible to compete with nimble new competitors. 5G’s success
depends on satisfying new customer needs that we may not fully appreciate yet, and
tapping into innovative ideas of many different types of partners. IoT, connected and
driverless cars, mobile healthcare – these are entirely new markets different from the
traditional mobile phone services. VR/AR, immersive video, intelligent agents – these
are brand‐new user experience and engagement models. To fully seize these new
We believe that the efforts around SDN and NFV are part of an overall move towards
a cloud model of developing, deploying, operating and monetizing operators’ infrastructure, services – and increasingly, content. It is not coincidental that 5G and NFV
happen at the same time. Going back to the NGMN Alliance’s white paper on 5G goals,
we can see that operators in the era of 5G do much more than provide a faster wireless
pipe; 5G is much more than a speed dial‐up from 4G. NFV, SDN and cloud technologies
are integral to 5G. A telco cloud, in this sense, is the adoption of a cloud model in all
aspects of an operator’s business, and NFV and SDN are components of the strategy to
move telco infrastructure, operational processes, and business models to that vision.
To summarize, we will primarily use the simple term NFV in this chapter in a broad
and forward‐looking context.
15.5 Common NFV Drivers
In this section, we briefly look at some common NFV drivers and use cases and how
they relate to 5G and 5G security.
15.5.1 Technology Curve
Developing custom products for the telecom industry is a costly business. This cost
shows up in the extraordinary long technology cycles. It is common for this process to
take a decade or more from R&D to commonly‐deployed services for customers. This
cost also shows up in the proprietary systems such as gateways, switches, routers, and
operating systems, middle‐ware, and applications. The hardware is slower to upgrade
because of this cost, which deprives the industry of the full benefits of Moore Law in
silicon improvements. Its customized operating systems, tool chains, and middle‐layer
and application software do not fully take advantage of rapid software and methodology
advancements, such as distributed system algorithms, distributed or NoSQL data bases,
programmable APIs, Big Data, and machine learning, just to name a few. Other segments of the IT industry have taken leaps and bounds with these software technologies,
which the telecom industry cannot readily adopt because of the proprietary approach it
has taken. There are, of course, unique problems in the telecom industry, such as real‐
time constraints and high reliability needs. But the question is, can we achieve these
based on standard COTS (common off‐the‐shelf ) hardware and modern software technologies? The answer is not only yes, but that we must. NFV can help the telecom
industry not only ride the technology curve but lead it.
15.5.2 Opportunity Cost and Competitive Landscape
Proprietary systems are not only costly to develop but also slow to adapt to new customer needs and too inflexible to compete with nimble new competitors. 5G’s success
depends on satisfying new customer needs that we may not fully appreciate yet, and
tapping into innovative ideas of many different types of partners. IoT, connected and
driverless cars, mobile healthcare – these are entirely new markets different from the
traditional mobile phone services. VR/AR, immersive video, intelligent agents – these
are brand‐new user experience and engagement models. To fully seize these new