Smartphone Network Slicing

Recently I reviewed a December 2021 study from Mobile Experts on the state of Fixed Mobile Convergence in the U.S.?The final report highlighted those consumers placed roughly twenty times more value on mobile broadband than fixed in terms of what they’re willing to pay for monthly plans. While this “mobility premium” can be primarily credited to a consumer’s fear of being “out of touch” when on the move, it also drives their expectations regarding wireless network services.?The survey included more than 9,000 consumers across seven countries (U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Australia, Singapore, and India), showing a strong and growing consumer preference for mobile apps. According to the analyst, the Airship global survey results show a strong and growing consumer preference for mobile apps, with 75% of respondents using them more or about the same since the pandemic began.??

In addition, the expectations for personalization of services are growing as 5G smartphones become connected to 5G networks and can avail of an enhanced connectivity service. As more 5G services become available via mobile phones and other devices, differentiated service offers are what will help the industry grow.

Leading communications service providers are aggressively searching for an effective enterprise B2B and B2B2X market strategy that will help them break into new market opportunities predicted to be worth USD 200 billion by 2030.

One thing is that ‘slice friendly’ smartphones are coming on the market now, so it makes it an opportunity for CSPs to develop new services offerings with the possibility to monetize for different quality-of-experience levels. The first steps have been taken to enable enterprise services in smartphones for high-quality connectivity using network slicing. Support for consumer services using network slicing in smartphones will follow, as well as support in other 5G devices.

Recently, Ericsson launched a new Dynamic Network Slice Selection solution which it claims will help end-users avail of differentiated services. For example, customers who want a basic consumer service can be set up for a generic mobile broadband slice, whereas a range of more bandwidth-hungry users, such as gamers, will want minimal latency, while business users will demand a high-security slice for enterprise applications. Also, it opens up the potential for new services as developers could use this technology to cut latency and improve the quality of experience for their apps.

Ericsson’s system complies to 3GPP-standards-based user equipment route selection policies (URSP) in 5G networks. URSP is one of the main new functions being introduced in 5G smartphones and 5G network infrastructure that enables the use of multiple simultaneous network slices on the same device, with traffic detection and steering features.?

Network slicing has already established itself as a fundamental technology enabler to a carrier’s ability to provide customized services. The new solution enables dynamic and flexible separation of services and enhances traffic steering to a smartphone. Allowing multiple slices on one device has been supported earlier in the industry but not widely used on commercial smartphones.

Carriers can leverage this advanced technology to deploy a complete end-to-end, customer-centric service approach for smartphones and other devices. It enables flexible separation of services by allowing devices to choose optimal network slices.

Users can benefit from differentiated services by having separate network slices for personal and work profiles. They could have one network slice for generic mobile broadband traffic, another for a gaming service, and a third work-optimized slice. Examples for the latter use case include using a high-security slice for enterprise applications like video conferencing and collaboration and future services like augmented reality guided assembly instructions.

Optimal network slicing capabilities also enhance enterprise device deployment, service management, and overall security through dedicated work profiles. This advanced capability allows the delivery of different network quality levels and adherence to additional data management requirements.

Some security-sensitive apps, such as mobile banking, could benefit from different traffic routing mechanisms. Banking apps, for example, would not need to send traffic over the internet to reach the application server. Instead, the data could go straight to the server through a network slice and users can reduce the risk of being attacked by hackers.

A vital technology proof point was demonstrated In November 2021 when FarEasTone and Ericsson demonstrated the world’s first 5G end-to-end multiple simultaneous networks slicing on the same device. This feat was accomplished on commercial Android 12 devices using an Ericsson-powered 5G standalone system. This collaboration successfully demonstrated the 5G standards-based functionality User Equipment Route Selection Policy (URSP) rules on Android devices. It also proved how smartphone network slicing could enable a wide variety of new services across consumer and enterprise segments to deliver enhanced network flexibility and faster time-to-market.

Ericsson, Deutsche Telekom, and Samsung also completed the world's first 5G end-to-end (E2E) network slicing trial at Deutsche Telekom's Bonn lab. The team tethered a Samsung S21 commercial device to a VR headset in the trial. This cloud virtual reality streaming game test used two independent E2E network slices: a default mobile broadband slice and a cloud VR gaming–optimized slice. The gaming slice was designed and configured to enable higher throughput and stable low latency while also providing resource isolation between the two slices. The trial case demonstrated a superior experience on the gaming slice even under congested network conditions.

Ericsson has been driving the 3GPP standardization and GSMA specifications for URSP and is working actively with the global device ecosystem to introduce dynamic multiple slice selection on 5G smartphones and network infrastructure. The Ericsson capability is also key to effective edge compute deployments by allowing edge breakout of the user plane for optimized network characteristics.

Ericsson has now introduced these new capabilities into their 5G Core portfolio as part of Ericsson’s end-to-end network slicing offerings within BSS, OSS, core, 5G RAN, and transport network domains.

Network slicing is a critical 5G networks enabler as it provides growth opportunities for new applications services on different devices. Communications Service Providers should leverage this capability to enhance customer intimacy and build brand loyalty. Ericsson Dynamic Network Slice Selection does this by enabling flexible separation of services and enhancing traffic steering to maximize the quality of experience (QoE) on every single device. Learn more about how it works for smartphones and other future network slicing capable devices by visiting “Network slicing made easy” at Ericsson.com.

This article was sponsored by Ericsson Digital Services.