Service provider solutions
Enable new revenue streams and scale cloud-native transformation with high-performance subscriber services and adaptive security for mobile and fixed-line networks.
Secure and scale 5G/6G and AI services with carrier-grade performance
F5 helps service providers modernize 5G/6G, fixed-line, and AI infrastructure with cloud-native application delivery and security all delivered via the F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP). Built on F5 BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition and a unified Kubernetes traffic layer, F5 delivers carrier-grade L3–L7 traffic management, security, observability, and high-performance hardware—simplifying operational complexity.
Roll out 5G/6G and AI services faster
Accelerate time to revenue with cloud-native networking and security that simplify service rollout across core, cloud, and edge.
Lower OpEx and CapEx with one platform
Reduce OpEx and CapEx by consolidating application delivery, security, and observability into one scalable platform.
Scale and monetize 5G/6G, fixed-line, and AI networks
Unlock new monetization models with true multi-tenancy designed for carrier-grade managed services and AI workloads.
Reduce risk across 5G/6G, fixed-line and AI networks
Lower operational risk with embedded L3–L7 security and deep visibility built for 5G, AI, and high-performance networks.
Explore service provider use cases
Distributed edge for 5G and 6G
Distributed edge for 5G and 6G
5G and emerging 6G services depend on highly distributed edge deployments that demand consistent performance, strong tenant isolation, and scalable subscriber traffic management.
Service providers must efficiently manage IP addressing and deliver N6 LAN services—such as internet access, enterprise connectivity, and application steering—while operating seamlessly across core, cloud, and edge environments.
F5 BIG-IP Next for Kubernetes
Scalable, multi-tenant ingress and egress control for Kubernetes clusters.
F5 BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition
Subscriber-aware carrier-grade CNFs for edge and N6 LAN traffic.
F5 BIG-IP CGNAT
IPv4 address abstraction and logging for large-scale N6 subscriber traffic.
F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager
Inline firewall and DDoS defense for service provider edge and core.
F5 BIG-IP DNS
Inline firewall and DDoS defense for service provider edge and core.
F5 BIG-IP eBPF Observability
Real-time subscriber and application traffic visibility for Kubernetes and CNFs.
Cloud-native managed services
Cloud-native managed services
As service providers shift to cloud-native managed services, they must deliver application security and protection on shared, distributed infrastructure—without compromising tenant isolation, performance, or policy consistency.
Customers also expect fast onboarding, predictable results, and consistent security across cloud, edge, and on-prem environments.
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F5 Distributed Cloud DDoS
Always-on DDoS protection with centralized edge visibility and enforcement.
F5 Distributed Cloud API Security
End-to-end API discovery, security, and governance for managed services.
F5 Distributed Cloud Bot Defense
Protect apps and APIs from bots without sacrificing user experience.
Continuous security as a managed platform
Continuous security as a managed platform
Service providers are expected to deliver security as an always-on, managed service that scales with apps, users, and traffic.
Cloud-native architectures, encrypted traffic, and distributed workloads expand the attack surface and make bolt-on security costly and ineffective.
By embedding security directly into traffic flows, providers gain consistent policy enforcement across ingress, egress, and service-to-service traffic—improving visibility, reducing operational overhead, and enabling security as a scalable, revenue-generating service.
F5 Distributed Cloud Managed Services
Expert management and optimization of F5 products, delivering continuous monitoring and superior application performance.
Neoclouds and AI factories
Neoclouds and AI factories
Neocloud providers and enterprises building AI factories must operate large-scale, shared AI infrastructure as a production revenue platform—not an experiment.
These environments demand extreme performance, strong tenant isolation, and end-to-end security across distributed, GPU-accelerated systems.
Traditional networking and security tools add latency and limit visibility into AI traffic and multi-tenant access. A unified traffic, security, and observability foundation maximizes GPU usage, protects workloads, and scales AI training, inference, and data movement efficiently.
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F5 BIG-IP Next for Kubernetes
Scalable, multi-tenant ingress and egress control for Kubernetes clusters.
F5 BIG-IP AFM
Inline firewall and DDoS defense for service provider edge and core.
F5 BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition
Subscriber-aware carrier-grade CNFs for edge and N6 LAN traffic.
N6-LAN services
N6-LAN services
F5 enables service providers to deliver high-scale, subscriber-aware N6-LAN services between the mobile core and external networks.
Using cloud-native Firewall, CGNAT, DNS, and integrated policy enforcement, F5 normalizes subscriber traffic, secures applications, and applies consistent controls without adding latency.
As a result, providers gain the performance, visibility, and operational simplicity needed to scale 5G N6-LAN services confidently across core, cloud, and edge.
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F5 BIG-IP AFM
Inline firewall and DDoS defense for service provider edge and core.
F5 BIG-IP DNS
Inline firewall and DDoS defense for service provider edge and core.
F5 BIG-IP Policy Enforcement Manager
Improve network performance through effective policy management.
F5 BIG-IP CGNAT
IPv4 address abstraction and logging for large-scale N6 subscriber traffic.
F5 BIG-IP Cloud-Native Network Functions
Subscriber-aware carrier-grade CNFs for edge and N6 LAN traffic.
Cloud-native infrastructure
Cloud-native infrastructure
F5 delivers a unified traffic management, ingress and egress networking, security, and observability layer for cloud-native infrastructure across Kubernetes, virtualized, and bare-metal environments.
With consistent L3–L7 control, deep traffic visibility, and programmable policy delivered through cloud-native and hardware-accelerated platforms, F5 replaces fragmented tools with a standardized, carrier-grade foundation—so service providers can run cloud-native platforms at scale with predictable performance and operational efficiency.
F5 BIG-IP Next for Kubernetes
Scalable, multi-tenant ingress and egress control for Kubernetes clusters.
F5 BIG-IP eBPF Observability
Real-time subscriber and application traffic visibility for Kubernetes and CNFs.
Results and recognition
Technology alliances
Resources
White papers
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Frequently asked questions
AI-ready infrastructure enables service providers to transform 5G from a connectivity investment into a revenue-generating, service-driven platform. By combining cloud-native traffic management, real-time observability, and embedded security, operators can dynamically steer traffic, enforce policy, and support differentiated services like network slicing, private 5G, edge computing, and AI-powered managed services. In addition, it allows operators to offer AI inferencing and LLM-aaS offerings on their AI-ready infrastructure.
AI-ready platforms also automate capacity planning and provide insight into how traffic, latency, and utilization directly impact revenue. This allows operators to launch new services faster while maximizing infrastructure efficiency and service assurance.
A cloud-native, disaggregated 5G core gives Tier 1 providers the agility to scale network functions independently while maintaining carrier-grade performance. Disaggregation decouples control plane, user plane, and security functions, allowing operators to deploy and upgrade services faster across core, cloud, and edge environments.
Cloud-native architectures improve resilience, reduce vendor lock-in, and support the multi-tenant platforms required for enterprise 5G and managed services. With consistent L3–L7 traffic control and security, providers reduce operational complexity while accelerating time to revenue.
Legacy network functions virtualization (NFV) relies on virtual machine (VM)-based appliances that mirror physical network functions, often resulting in operational overhead, limited elasticity, and inconsistent performance. In contrast, modern cloud-native network functions (CNFs) are container-based and built for Kubernetes, enabling elastic scaling, automation, and consistent policy enforcement across distributed environments. CNFs integrate directly into cloud-native DevOps workflows, providing better visibility into ephemeral traffic and encrypted flows.
This shift allows service providers to operate networks as programmable software platforms, reducing cost while supporting advanced 5G, edge, and AI-driven services.
Telcos and ISPs use AI to reduce operational complexity by automating traffic optimization, anomaly detection, and policy enforcement across distributed networks. AI-driven insights detect congestion, security threats, and performance issues in real time, enabling faster remediation and reduced mean time to repair (MTTR).
When integrated with a unified traffic and security platform, AI can automate configuration changes across ingress, egress, and service-to-service traffic without manual intervention. This allows operators to scale networks and services without expanding operations teams or increasing tool sprawl.
Service provider solutions simplify scale by consolidating traffic management, security, and observability into a unified, programmable platform.
Instead of deploying separate tools for each service, operators use consistent policies across core, distributed cloud, and edge environments.
Built-in multi-tenancy, automation, and deep visibility allow teams to onboard customers quickly while maintaining isolation and performance. This approach enables faster service rollout, lower OpEx, and predictable operations—so providers can grow revenue without increasing complexity.