Three UK has chosen Ericsson to build its next-generation cloud native core network, which will be the largest core network in Europe, with core capacity more than doubling to 9 terabits per second (Tbps).

In recent years, due to the English Premier League streaming and game updates on Amazon Prime, Three’s network data usage has surged, exceeding 2Tbps in December 2024. This is more than two years after reaching 1Tbps, which is a milestone that took nearly 20 years to reach. This rapid growth is driven by streaming media, gaming, and home broadband.

Three UK continues to lead other operators in mobile data consumption (Enders Analysis), with its customers using an average of 31.5GB of data per month in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 18%, which is 2.4 times the national average.

The new cloud native core network, powered by Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G core solution and supported by Ericsson’s cloud native infrastructure solution, will be located on Three’s nationwide distributed data center network, bringing its core network closer to customers and helping to support improved latency.

Ericsson’s core network capabilities have a strong track record in the fiercely competitive global market, bringing many benefits to telecom operators and customers, such as:

Scalable capacity growth to support future demands;

Improve stability and reduce downtime;

Greater network insights enable Three UK to manage demand more effectively;

In service software upgrade – the ability to upgrade infrastructure without draining traffic from data centers;

Improve environmental performance through the latest technological upgrades;

The cloud native infrastructure and core network solutions have been installed in Three’s data centers and will be partially operational by the end of this year, with careful migration of all traffic in the coming years.

Iain Milligan, Chief Network Officer of Three, said, “The past few years have witnessed a crazy growth in data, with peak hour traffic doubling in just over two years driven by home broadband, streaming, and gaming. Our new core network with Ericsson ensures that we can support customer data usage in the medium to long term.”

Katherine Ainley, CEO of Ericsson UK and Ireland, said, “We are very proud to support Three UK in the next phase of its network transformation. Our long-term partnership with Three is built on trust, innovation, and shared commitment to provide an excellent mobile experience. This project is an important milestone in our collaboration, and we are pleased to help Three establish a new core network to meet the growing data needs of its customers.”