Vodafone Idea (Vi) has successfully demonstrated secure network slicing using Nokia’s 5G radio access network (RAN) and 5G core. The trial was conducted in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on government allocated 5G spectrum.
Deployment of network slicing will enable Vi to quickly add new revenue streams while delivering innovative 5G use cases to the users and to enterprises.
As part of the demonstration, two network slices were created. The first slice was for general data traffic and the second slice was established for high-speed and extremely low latency. Without the second slice, virtual reality (VR) content achieved a lower resolution delivering an average user experience.
Using Nokia’s solution, with security built in from the earliest product design phase, Vi showcased that network slicing significantly improved the user experience by allowing viewers to enjoy the high-resolution VR content.
Network slicing allows service providers to create multiple virtual networks over the same physical network. These virtual networks can be configured based on different parameters, including network performance, speed, bandwidth and latency to offer differentiated services. This allows service providers to cost-effectively address the requirements of diverse customers by creating network slices in line with service level agreements (SLAs) within minutes.
Commenting on the development, Jagbir Singh, CTO, Vi, said, “Network slicing opens up new and exciting opportunities and will allow our enterprise customers to gain new competencies and efficiencies from 5G-powered use cases, like VR, industry 4.0 and the internet of things (IoT), among others. As we prepare for 5G for a better tomorrow for consumers and enteprises, we are happy to partner with our longstanding partner, Nokia, to trial network slicing capabilities and look forward to working with them on 5G deployment.”
