AT&T's Kubernetes Bet Tests Network Virtualization's Limits

AT&T's eight-figure, multiyear deal to deploy cloud-native technologies managed by Kubernetes in its 5G network will test the limits of the emerging container orchestration technology.Everybody knows that networks need to be more agile, with control and orchestration built into software, and new capabilities rolled out quickly without requiring hardware upgrades. More recently, developers are standardizing on microservices built on containers, managed by Kubernetes, as the foundation for those networks. But that's all still relatively nascent, emerging technology, especially for telcos. AT&T's massive deployment will put the theory to a real-world test.And the stakes are high, not just because the network is big, but also because it's AT&T's 5G network. And 5G, as we're all sick of hearing, is the future of AT&T and the rest of the telco industry.