Ericsson, Telstra go live with world’s first blade-based mobile softswitch

Ericsson has delivered the world's first mobile softswitch using blade technology, to Australian operator Telstra, which has already brought the new MSC Server Blade Cluster into commercial service on its NextG network.
The Mobile Switching Center (MSC) Server is the main node in a mobile core network used to control the switching of voice traffic. With the new MSC Server Blade Cluster, network capacity can be increased by more than half a million subscribers by simply inserting a new blade (electronics board) in the MSC Server cabinet. This innovative design provides easy scalability and supports ultra-high capacity, providing significant cost savings for mobile operators.
Telstra is providing voice-switching capacity for all its mobile subscribers via a single national mobile core network where the MSC Servers are deployed in a combined GSM and WCDMA MSC pool. By 2010, Telstra intends to have replaced the current 18 regional MSC Servers by one MSC Server Blade Cluster pool deployed at two sites in eastern Australia. This rationalization will reduce equipment floor space by 85%, cut energy use by 75% and proportionately reduce greenhouse gas emissions.