AT&T has been performing with Microsoft for many a long time to exam its 5G workloads on Azure. Currently, June 30 — the final working day of Microsoft’s fiscal 2021 — the pair introduced the renewal of their partnership, with Microsoft acquiring AT&T’s carrier-quality Community Cloud system technological innovation.

Does this indicate Microsoft is getting a cell operator? No. Nor is AT&T receiving out of the telco small business.

The Network Cloud Platform is what AT&T has used to operate its 5G technological know-how considering the fact that 2018. Microsoft designs to take this Network Cloud platform, precisely the intellectual property and complex skills about it — and carry it to its Azure for Operators telco featuring, the pair explained.

“This shift delivers genuine-environment production 5G workloads to Azure for Operators,” mentioned Microsoft by way of a push launch. Microsoft will make presents to the AT&T Community Cloud platform engineering workforce to shift to do the job for Microsoft.

Introduced very last year, Azure for Operators is about earning Azure a lot more attractive to telecommunication organizations. Microsoft officials claimed at the time that it experienced no intentions to grow to be a telco supplier in its very own right. Microsoft also bought a pair of 5G-centric companies in latest months — Metaswitch Networks and Affirmed Networks — to more bolster its means to promote Azure to telcos.

Telecommunications is 1 of Microsoft’s essential vertical markets. The organization previously counts NTT, Vodafone, T-Cell, Verizon Small business, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, and Telstra, together with AT&T, as associates and/or prospects in this area.

Today, AT&T officers mentioned they are transferring their 5G cellular community to Microsoft’s cloud, which gives a route for all of its cell community traffic to be managed applying Azure technologies. The to start with piece to be moved will be AT&T’s 5G main, which connects cellular consumers and IoT units with Internet and other companies.

In 2019, Microsoft and AT&T introduced Azure know-how would be woven into AT&T’s 5G and edge networks, so that AT&T’s virtualized 5G main Community Cloud will be capable to deliver Azure products and services to customers. Modern announcement advancements the initial 2019 deal among the two providers.