Deutsche Telekom, Blue Planet, Ericsson, and Mavenir on Friday announced the successful completion of a proof-of-concept (PoC) for dynamic network slicing with open APIs. In a joint statement, the technology partners said the PoC demonstrated how enterprises can quickly and easily create customised 5G services with guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS).
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PoC Components
The PoC was conducted using a 5G Standalone (SA) network infrastructure in test mode at Deutsche Telekom's labs in Darmstadt and Bonn.
Key components of this successful PoC include a customer portal integrated into Deutsche Telekom's Business Support System (BSS), Blue Planet's Multi-Domain Service Orchestrator (MDSO), Mavenir's cloud-native 5G Core (5GC), and Ericsson's Radio Access Network (RAN), complete with network management capabilities. Deutsche Telekom's proprietary network resource qualification system, "Bookkeeper," ensures service feasibility control.
According to the joint statement, the PoC reveals a streamlined process where enterprise customers can order secure, dedicated network slices with precise Quality of Service (QoS) tailored to their unique connectivity needs. These slices are swiftly activated end-to-end within minutes, spanning from User Equipment (UE) to the enterprise's applications.
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As per the statement, open APIs from TM Forum played a key role in integrating and managing diverse elements across various technology domains and suppliers, considering the diversity of 5G network technology.
The PoC showcased the following capabilities:
- Enterprise customers placing product orders.
- MDSO efficiently distributing orders to relevant technology domains.
- Rapid orchestration of Model-driven RAN and Core domains to create slices and orchestrate end-to-end services within minutes.
- Dynamic instantiation of network functions, including User Plane Function (UPF).
- Customer SIM subscription and provisioning.
Network slicing
Network slicing, a core architectural feature of 5G Standalone (SA), allows the creation of multiple virtual networks on a single physical infrastructure. Each slice can be tailored to specific service characteristics and quality parameters, unlocking new business models and differentiated services.
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Deutsche Telekom stated: "Our enterprise customers are demanding tailored and flexible connectivity services. Working with our partners in this ground-breaking PoC, we successfully validated a multi-domain orchestration to show how customers can order slices dynamically in minutes by clicking a few options. Dynamic slicing and automation are key innovations that will play a crucial role to enable the delivery of on-demand 5G offerings with guaranteed quality of service for our enterprise customers."
Blue Planet, a division of Ciena, says, "With the help of Blue Planet's MDSO, Deutsche Telekom can automatically create new slice-based service offerings on-demand in this ground-breaking PoC."
Ericsson shared: "We are pleased to have been able to collaborate so effectively once more with our longstanding partners at Deutsche Telekom to develop such important capabilities."
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"Mavenir's cloud-native 5G Core exposes Open APIs allowing enterprise customers to seamlessly request deployment and configuration of dedicated 5G Core user and control plane network functions, as well as to provision corresponding subscribers' profiles through an orchestration layer. This joint activity demonstrates the monetization opportunity of offering guaranteed and on-demand service level agreement at any time and location," expressed Mavenir.
The PoC demonstrates dynamic network slicing and automation. It paves the way for the development of new and innovative 5G services that can meet the needs of a wide range of enterprises.
