With the UK roll out of 5G mobile broadband expected in 2020, preparations have stepped up a pace with the announcement of a new strategic partnership between BT and Huawei.
The UK’s national network operator and Chinese mobile vendor have signed a research and development deal to look into the introduction of so called ‘network slicing’ bandwidth management.
Hot on the heels of that news, at MWC 2017 in Barcelona, Huawei took the opportunity to unveil the first piece of network slicing hardware it has developed, a new router capable of creating virtual networks on top of physical bandwidth.
What is Network Slicing?
Network slicing is a way of carving up radio bandwidth into discrete packets and then allocating resources according to the needs of each user. Instead of every individual service using its own share of the physical bandwidth, each use case will get its own virtual network built out of the specific properties it requires, such as speed, capacity and coverage.
This means resources can be distributed much more efficiently, maximising the overall capabilities and performance of the network. For example, if you have a service which requires high speed but relatively low capacity, it could be paired with another service which needs lower speeds but has a high throughput to share the same physical piece of bandwidth.
Network slicing uses the same principles behind Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV). Each virtual network is defined according to the demands of the end use, and operates independently of the rest of the physical network, meaning performance is not affected, for example, by sudden surges in demand.
Why the Need for Network Slicing?
The driving force behind the exploration of network slicing is the massive expansion in supported data services most analysts expect to see when 5G is introduced. This includes major growth in services already available via 4G, with a push towards Broadband Everywhere connectivity and expansion of mobile video and TV.
But most of the expansion is expected to come from machine-to-machine and human-to-machine connectivity, as 5G takes the Internet of Things to the next level. Automated transport management, including the technology behind driverless cars, is a major area for development, as is remote control, both for household appliances and industrial applications. Both of these will severely test the capacity of the physical 5G network.
Slicing also has benefits for mobile network operators. The virtual network model means vendors will be able to sell mobile broadband for the first time ‘as a service’, with bespoke, independent, managed connectivity geared towards the specific needs of each client. This will allow mobile operators to develop business models similar to those of managed cloud service providers, with an emphasis on flexibility, tailor made solutions, scalability and reliability.
In other words, with 5G and network slicing, everyone will be getting what they need from mobile broadband, rather than an equal share of the same infrastructure.
What are your thoughts on 5G? What do you see the main benefits being? How can you see it affecting your business? Please feel free to share your views in the comments section below, and remember to share this article with your friends and colleagues if you think it is something that would interest them.
