SK Telecom and Ericsson have demonstrated 5G slicing technology in the Korean operator’s latest showcase of network transformation.
5G slicing allows a single physical network to be partitioned into multiple virtual mobile networks for different 5G services.
According to SK Telecom and Ericsson, the technology is currently being eyed up by operators, vendors and software providers as a way of supporting different 5G services in an efficient manner.
During the demonstration, the companies created different network slices for augmented and virtual reality services, enterprise solutions and “massive” IoT services.
They said they were able to “completely isolate and protect” each network slice, which they said demonstrated how virtual networks can be optimised for provisioning on an as-a-service basis.
Alex Jinsung Choi, Chief Technology Officer at SK Telecom, said network slicing formed one of the “key enabling technologies” for the operator’s 5G architecture.
The telco’s collaboration with Ericsson forms part of a 5G MoU signed between the two companies in July. The companies said they were also prepping a joint 5G testbed at SK Telecom’s Corporate R&D Centre to set up a “state-of-the-art, end-to-end 5G system.”
Ericsson CTO Ulf Ewaldsson said: “The development of 5G is in a very exciting phase right now with important achievements in research and development. The success with the network slicing technology is critical to enable the network to be an innovation platform for new types of applications and thereby meet the future expectations.”