Ericsson partnered with Vodafone UK and completed the network slicing trials on 5G SA (standalone). It was a joint lab trial conducted by the companies, and note that this was the first time in the UK that 5G network slicing with on-demand quality of service control for virtual reality use case was tested successfully.
With 5G SA, the demand for network slicing by business and enterprise customers will go up. Through this service, the telecom operators can create multiple virtual networks and can customise the power and settings of each network depending on the needs of the customer.
The benefit of slicing is that each slice is isolated from the telco’s other network traffic, which gives the businesses a dedicated network with guaranteed performance and also increases security for internal communication via that network.
Ericsson, Vodafone UK Network Slice on 5G SA Guaranteed 260 Mbps Speed
The technology teams of Vodafone UK and Ericsson worked together to form a network slice on 5G SA using a single RAN function for a high-bandwidth and low-latency network that can be delivered for a virtual reality use case in a retail store. The slice guaranteed a download speed of 260 Mbps and latency of 2.4 milliseconds.
What’s worth noting is that the process of placing an order to form a slice and carry live network traffic took just 30 minutes. A network slice can be heavily customised on the download, upload, security, latency, capacity, and geographical segments to deliver exactly what the customer is looking for.
This is going to be a game-changer for businesses and enterprises looking to set up their own internal communications network for conducting all operations. Network slicing is one of the most exciting use cases of 5G that will boost the enterprise revenues of the telcos in the future. It is the first time something like this has happened in the UK, which is a big feat for both Ericsson and Vodafone UK.
