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The mobile industry is influenced by many factors, but increasingly by geopolitical tensions, the accelerating adoption of 5G standalone (SA), and advancements in AI. We observe a trend in the Mobile Core Network market towards consolidating signaling products across 2G to 5G, often replacing outdated legacy systems. As operators transition to modern software-based architectures, priorities include finding new revenue streams, cutting costs, enhancing flexibility and security, while future-proofing their networks for long-term success.
In Q4 2024 GSA reported that 151 operators in 63 countries are investing in 5G SA networks. Indeed, we are already seeing increased interest in various 5G core network functions such as the Communication Proxy (SCP), required for control of signaling and the Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP) necessary for roaming interconnect. The SCP provides centralized traffic management and optimization, monitoring/tracing capabilities, and seamless scalability, which are important for 5G’s dynamic environments. SEPP, mandated by 3GPP for securing 5G inter-operator signaling, becomes indispensable as – according to Juniper – connections will increase 900% from 53 million in 2023 to 526 million by 2027. With these technical demands, SCP and SEPP will be priorities in 2025 for operators transitioning to standalone architectures.
Another trend is operators consolidating various existing signaling functions as they adopt cloud-native SEPP and SCP platforms for their 5G networks. This entails replacement of Diameter Routing Agents (DRA) and Signal Transfer Point (STP) with systems that can run in more modern data centers, e.g. the cloud. The acceleration of this transition in the coming years will be determined by cost considerations, further systems going end-of-life, and the necessity to mitigate resulting security risks.
Although incumbent vendors no longer provide a roadmap, development, or support for older systems, 2G-4G services will remain operational for years, driven by roaming commitments, legacy device usage, rural 2G connectivity needs, and regulatory obligations. As operators look to secure-proof their networks, they recognize the inefficiencies of maintaining unsupported, costly, vendor-dependent, appliances for 2G-4G alongside their 5G infrastructure. Consolidation through cloud-native solutions offers service providers scalability, flexibility, and unified operational management of services. Both public and on-premise cloud migrations support this transformation, with operators viewing this as a path to lower total cost of ownership (TCO) while ensuring long-term operational resilience.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will continue to dominate as a buzzword in telecommunications. However, the adoption of real-time signaling optimization and decision-making applications in core networks will remain a promise in 2025.
Nevertheless, there are several promising signaling use cases for AI and Machine Learning in mobile networks, such as:
Despite growing interest in AI-driven automation, core network signaling remains too complex and high-stakes for immediate AI adoption. Analysts like Heavy Reading note “AI in telecoms is advancing, but practical, carrier-grade solutions for network automation, particularly in signaling, are still in their infancy.” MNOs and vendors will experiment with AI, but tangible deployments for signaling will largely focus on narrow use cases, such as anomaly detection, rather than automated decision-making.
Rising geopolitical tensions and sophisticated cyberattacks, extending beyond traditional criminal activities, are heightening signaling security concerns significantly. This trend is compelling operators to prioritize security-by-design solutions capable of real-time anomaly detection and seamless cross-network intervention.
State actors and organized cybercriminal groups are increasingly exploiting vulnerabilities in signaling systems. Their soft targets are often off-the-radar legacy systems, End-Of-Life, and no longer receiving security patches. High-profile incidents, such as China-linked hackers accessing surveillance data from telecom providers, underscore the urgency for stronger defenses across the technology board. The complexity of multi-protocol environments spanning 2G to 5G amplifies these risks, necessitating in-depth measures like advanced Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP) capabilities, multi-protocol firewalls, and real-time (anomaly) threat intelligence.
In 2025, signaling security will remain a top operational priority for operators and governments, as they invest in strategies and technologies to mitigate these evolving threats and safeguard critical communications infrastructure.
By the end of 2025, we foresee cloud adoption for signaling functions will be a trend among operators of all sizes. Both public and private cloud deployments will dominate in delivering scalability, flexibility, and operational efficiency.
Cloud-based architectures are increasingly popular because of the ongoing shift to 5G SA, consolidation of legacy systems, and the increasing need to integrate with evolving enterprise services. Container-based deployments will take center stage, enabling rapid deployment, seamless scaling, and efficient maintenance or updates of signaling functions. Public cloud partnerships (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and private on-premise cloud deployments provide flexibility to address regulatory and performance concerns. This transition aligns with operator goals of reducing hardware dependency and aligning network operations with modern IT practices.
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