5G has long promised network operators the ability to profit from slicing off chunks of their network capacity for enterprise customers. Now it looks like those kinds of services are getting real.
The 5G industry's long trip toward network slicing has not been pretty.
The 5G wave started with the non-standalone (NSA) flavor of the technology. 5G NSA essentially required a 4G core network to serve as an anchor for a new 5G radio access network (RAN).
But the "true" version of 5G is widely considered 5G standalone (SA), which eliminates the need for a 4G anchor network and supports technologies like Voice over 5G New Radio (VoNR) and network slicing. It has proven difficult to deploy, to say the least.
Even so, operators ranging from T-Mobile to BT are moving forward with standalone 5G networks. And that is finally paving the way for some operators in the US and elsewhere to dip their toes into the market for network slicing.
T-Mobile's view
"Network slicing involves creating customized, software-defined, virtual networks – or 'slices' – that are each logically separated and individually optimized to meet the specific needs of each application," T-Mobile told regulators at the end of 2023. "Within a slice, network functions are defined in software and customized to the use case supported by that slice. For example, network slicing allows providers to use a single 5G network to deliver high-intensity network resources to support a small number of robots on a factory floor, while at the same time delivering low-intensity network resources to a very large number of meter-reading sensors on a utility network."
T-Mobile's comments about network slicing arose amid a debate about whether the technology violated the spirit of Internet net neutrality. However, that debate is now moot given that incoming President Donald Trump's previous administration was uninterested in pursuing net neutrality regulations.
Rolling out slices
Despite the debate, companies including T-Mobile have been moving forward with network slicing deployments. T-Mobile recently launched "T-Priority," a network slice for first responders supported by the operator's 5G standalone core network.
Not to be outdone, Verizon said recently that its 5G network slicing public safety field demonstration in Phoenix, Arizona, is operational but still in trials. And AT&T has dabbled in prioritized access to its network but so far has not yet provided a firm network slice offer.
Internationally, companies ranging from Singtel to Telia Finland have deployed network slicing. For example, Singtel's app-based network slicing is designed to improve the performance of consumer and enterprise applications.
Looking ahead
A major outstanding question is how network operators might sell network slicing services. A possible example might come from a global push in the wireless industry to sell new networking capabilities to enterprise developers via application programming interfaces (APIs). It's an initiative enabled by 5G – this kind of thing wasn't really possible in a 4G world.
The GSMA, the global wireless industry's trade organization, has been working to rally network operators around the the idea of network APIs. GSMA launched its "Open Gateway" campaign last year, and earlier this year the group said that 47 mobile operator groups representing 239 mobile networks and 65% of wireless connections around the world have signed up.
The GSMA and its partners are developing a wide range of APIs for everything from text messaging to location information, billing, quality of service – and network slicing.
Indeed, Nokia recently said it tested a network slicing application with network operator Liberty Global and Belgian shipping company Seafar. Nokia said the shipping company could use its API platform to purchase an ultra-low latency slice of Liberty Global's Telenet 5G standalone network to maneuver Seafar's ships through ports without having to slow down.
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