Affirmed's Sunset is Here—Don't Get Left Behind: Discover the Risks and Opportunities in Migrating Your Core

In the fast-evolving world of 4G/5G networks, stability and forward momentum are non-negotiable. As telecom executives and infrastructure leads, you're likely aware of Microsoft's strategic retreat from active development of Affirmed Networks' core applications—a move that began in 2024 and continues into 2025.While support persists for now, the pivot toward cloud infrastructure and AI leaves operators with Affirmed deployments facing a critical decision point. This disruption impacts over 90 operators globally, from Tier-1 to regional MVNOs. In this post, we'll dive into the risks of inaction and the strategic opportunities migration unlocks, tailored to the areas where Affirmed once led but where stagnation now poses threats.

The Current Landscape

Microsoft's 2020 acquisition of Affirmed promised seamless Azure integration, delivering virtualized evolved packet cores (vEPC) and UnityCloud 4G/5G solutions that supported non-standalone (NSA) to standalone (SA) architectures. Deployments like AT&T's Domain 2.0 vEPC and Turkcell's orchestration for 35M+ subscribers showcased high throughput and 80% TCO reductions. However, 2024 reports from Light Reading signaled Microsoft's offloading of telco apps, including Affirmed, to focus on telco cloud. As of August 2025, development has stalled—no new features for AMF, SMF, oradvanced slicing—leaving your core network in a vulnerable holding pattern.

Key Risks of Delaying Your Core Migration

In a live network, the stakes are high. Here are the critical risks:

• Service Continuity and Downtime Vulnerabilities: Without ongoing enhancements in the core network, incompatibilities with RAN updates may occur, risking service outages . Delayed migrations have historically led to unplanned downtime, costing millions in SLA penalties and loss of brand value.
• Scalability and Performance Bottlenecks: 5G demands elastic scaling for IoT and edge Stagnant codebases miss optimizations standardized in 3GPP releases, potentially capping session management or UPF performance in dense deployments.
• Security and Compliance Gaps: A frozen software code base invites exploits as new vulnerabilities emerge in the global threat New and updated regulatory demands (e.g., FCC, GDPR, CCPA)could force costly retrofits or emergency corrections .
• Vendor Ecosystem Lock-In: As support wanes, integrating with new OSS/BSS solutions, RAN or Core NFs becomes riskier, stranding investments in LTE/5G services.

Opportunities in Proactive Core Migration

This disruption isn’t just a challenge—it’s a chance to modernize. Migration now positions your network for:

• Cost Optimizations: by deploying Axyom.Core’s modular packet core network with support for 4G, 5G NSA and 5G SA traffic using combined core network functions, resulting in significant OPEX reductions.
• Future ready, cloud first network: Vendor agnostic on-premise or multi-cloud deployments supporting all major cloud infrastructure providers, resulting in fast feature deployment and capital preservation over many years to come.
• A fresh start: Planning and executing on a migration strategy now provides ample time to retool your network architecture to cater to target customer base and make it ready for advanced features.
• Service continuity during migration: Zero service down time by using a phased, diligent migration approach while the existing core is still under support.

Early movers report 15-25% revenue growth from enhanced broadband and private networks.

 Charting Your Path Forward

As a leader of Network Planning or Infrastructure, you’re at the helm of this transition. The urgency is clear, but the next step requires informed action.

At Axyom.Core, we’re dedicated to empowering wireless providers with tailored, cloud-native solutions. Stay tuned for more insights.