After a few announcements in recent weeks and several years of lulls, one thing seems clear: Network slicing is coming and will make nationwide 5G networks a new advantage for enterprises. Last week, the analyst community debunked some myths about slicing, even though the technology is just beginning to be used commercially – as sliceable standalone 5G technology (5G SA) replaces derived non-standalone systems (5G NSA) in networks around the world. Has Slicen grown up? was the question; ‘you’re kidding, right?’ was the answer; in fact, the response was a challenge for the mobile operators to sell a solution, for onceand not just a technology.
Because no matter how good a technology is (and slicing can be very good), it will never appeal to enterprises if it doesn’t solve their problems. That was the point the analysts were making, and it’s a familiar one that gets thrown at excited vendors every time they come up with new toys and big speeches about digital transformation. “No company has a 5G problem; no company has a slicing problem” – was probably the best quote from the article. The same goes for AI, IoT and any incarnation of 5G: assess the problem, design the solution, and maybe there will be a place for those things at the end. But mobile operators are just not good at that, the analysts said.
At the same time, in response to questions from RCR Wirelesssome of them sound level-headed, reasonable, relaxed. Some have been testing the technology with customers in the first half of the year, others are preparing it for launch in the second half of the year. But none of them sound like they are in a hurry; none of them sound like they have everything fully developed; none of them talk about slicing as if it were more than just another tool in the 5G toolbox. A Deutsche Telekom spokesperson said: “We will continue to focus on innovation to develop and explore solutions that leverage 5G SA, including dynamic slicing technology, together with our partners and customers.”
Yes, the focus is on technology, but here too, the focus is first on solutions. It may be something and nothing, but Deutsche Telekom also speaks of the “potential Value” of national network slicing for enterprises in the “critical communications and Industry 4.0” sectors. Again, the choice of words seems significant; nothing is set or ruled out yet, but there is a sense that the industrial market could find a use for it through collaborative problem solving. The Germany-based company also takes note of the lesson about device scarcity at both ends of the IoT game – the age-old low-power end (LPWA) and the trendy new high-power end (private 5G).
“But we are dependent on the continued development of the entire ecosystem and the availability of 5G SA devices,” it says. We predict, but it’s as if the carrier community doesn’t want to be caught promoting yet another half-cooked dish while the stove is firing up and the seasoning is being prepared; slicing is still not on the main menu. Verizon says the same thing when asked about a timeline for a commercial offering. “(It) depends in part on the larger ecosystem – the more smartphones and IoT devices come to market, the more the commercial offering progresses. The 5G SA core, RAN and device ecosystem need to evolve together,” says a spokesperson for the US company.
“Our approach is to … launch only when these elements have reached a viable level of maturity so that they deliver meaningful benefits.” But Verizon is “taking initial steps,” it says, pointing to a field demo for public safety and another for live motorsports content. Ultimately, these seem to be clearer use cases (solutions) for splitting up the nation’s 5G infrastructure, such as testing for music festivals and boat racing. Deutsche Telekom – which owns Hrvatski Telekom in Croatia, which split its network for a greenfield port (one of the above announcements) – has already split its home network for broadcast services, which were used “regularly and very successfully” during the Euro 2024 soccer championships.
It is the “first operator in Germany with a commercial offer based on public 5G SA slicing,” it says with some enthusiasm. “We expect demand… to evolve in the future to meet, for example, specific use cases with high reliability requirements or specific security requirements,” it adds more cautiously. Away from consumer-focused broadband disciplines with content broadcasting/streaming and also more abstract Industry 4.0 opportunities, it seems that national security and/or public safety is the powder keg application for public 5G slicing. This is what Drei Austria is doing for blue light services in its home market – this is the other new announcement referenced above in the article.
“Media, entertainment and gaming are examples of consumer-facing businesses that the industry is exploring in addition to public safety. We expect that public sector and public safety use cases will be among the earliest and most widespread applications for network slicing,” Verizon says. As an aside, it is also curious that Nokia’s massive drone fleet in Switzerland, used by Swisscom for national emergency and security services, uses public 5G for their remote controls and data streams. Swisscom says that slicing, like private networks, may be planned for other use cases, but that general 5G, as it is, is sufficient for blue-light drone applications.
When asked about potential uses for public 5G slicing, France-based Orange writes via email: “For public networks, one goal for 5G slicing is to cover critical use cases (such as emergency and security services) over a large geographic area – for example, an entire country. Companies with multiple locations, field technicians or moving assets are also potential candidates. For these companies, guaranteed bandwidth is critical and a fully private on-site 5G network is not the solution.” The key factor, then, is highly reliable national coverage that comes into play where assets are dispersed or in motion.
Orange argues that public 5G connectivity is also relevant at the industrial edge – in fixed corporate facilities and on campuses – in combination with a slice and a private/hybrid edge setup. But these Industry 4.0 sites will initially seek to isolate operations with dedicated edge 5G, it says. “We offer hybridization as an intermediate option that enables access to a wide public spectrum and bandwidth with appropriate priority (slicing) (capabilities) while offering the ability to keep data on-site. Particularly large or sensitive industrial sites – ports, airports, industrial plants, chemical plants – are more likely to use 5G technology and 5G slicing in a hybrid or fully private network for their critical use cases.”
But private 5G is essentially a point solution, even if it is distributed across multiple sites as a multipoint solution; the public network is required in some form to chain together the supply chain resources in between. It is also relatively expensive compared to publicly available 5G, whether split or annexed in hybrid-private mode using the public core network. Orange says: “Private 5G is highly customizable and offers improved security, higher bandwidth and lower latency… (But) it requires investments in base stations, antennas and backhaul, for example… (It also requires) dedicated spectrum and skilled personnel. (Whereas) public 5G is more accessible and cost-effective.”
Orange continues: “(A hybrid of the two) offers the best of both… (It) provides the elasticity to run different operations on (different) networks (with) the private network taking care of business-critical functions… and the public network being used for less sensitive tasks. A hybrid approach (offers) the ability to diversify networks to reduce the risk of disruption and downtime. Organizations can also reduce costs by using low-cost public networks for non-critical workflows – thus optimizing network resources to meet their needs.” This is the conclusion from the discussion – that slicing may be useful for specific problems/solutions and probably important as part of the overall mix.
Others say the same. “We offer different products for enterprise customers to meet their needs and help them digitize their businesses. With our Campus Network offering, we offer different products that use public and isolated private networks or automatically navigate between public and private networks. These options give customers the choice to meet their enterprise needs today,” Deutsche Telekom writes. Sure, that sounds a little scripted, but it might also sound candid and realistic. Verizon, meanwhile, provides a comprehensive explanation of how all the hammers and pliers in its bulging 5G tool belt can be used and combined in different ways – which is edited, copied and pasted below.
When asked whether national 5G slicing is really intended for less critical enterprise applications, thereby precluding its relevance to the majority of the Industry 4.0 market where private 5G is likely to prevail, Verizon writes: “(Public 5G slicing) is relevant to Industry 4.0 and could be used for mission-critical communications, such as in public sector/public safety scenarios. Other commercial applications may be handled by private networks, neutral host networks, or through network slicing, depending on the customer’s requirements.”
“Smart meters, for example, require little bandwidth and no mobility – but they need a high level of reliability. They require more modest use of network resources (and could use a slice accordingly). In contrast, massive multiplayer online mobile gaming requires high upload/download speeds and low latency… (So) that could be another slice. (Meanwhile) Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) in a 5G network does not require mobility routing. Slicing could allow a provider to commit to minimum speeds for FWA. Each of these services would require a network slice with very different characteristics.”
Verizon further explains slicing scenarios on a mixed-use campus, where 5G delivery can be provided over the public network, a neutral host network, or a private network, stating: “Office environments may be able to operate at average throughput and latency, while video labs, factory floors, and other experimental areas may require higher performance. Slicing enables each of these environments to receive a level of service that meets the needs of their applications. (It) enables the network to dynamically and efficiently define the experience a customer should receive for the applications they use, and deliver that specific level of service as resources are available.”
