MWC 2018: Network Slicing for Critical Communications Demonstration

At the Mobile World Congress 2018, Ericsson and Swisscom will conduct a network slicing demonstration, showing how the functionality is implemented in Ericsson’s 4G and 5G solutions.

Ericsson’s network slicing functionality can be used to secure the reliability and performance of applications for industries such as manufacturing and transportation. The two companies are closely collaborating on end-to-end network slicing for critical communications in a joint project to deploy and explore new use cases for 4G and 5G.

The project is based on Ericsson radio access and core networks, and one of the first steps is to test how the functionality can support critical communications over public networks, for example, in the public transport sector. The two companies will demonstrate how end-to-end network slicing can be implemented on Ericsson’s 4G and 5G network solutions.

The demonstration will use commercially available features in the Ericsson radio access network, such as RAN slicing and Quality of Service control, combined with Ericsson’s core network functionality and Operations Support Systems offering, securing the reliability and performance of applications for critical communications.

To introduce applications for specific industries, Swisscom is planning to evolve its network and infrastructure to support requirements that are different and more stringent compared to traditional mobile broadband needs. Investments in digital industrialization are expected to generate an estimated $619 billion revenue opportunity for telecom operators by 2026, according to the 5G Business Potential report published by Ericsson. The report also notes that service providers will profit from an additional 36 percent revenue potential by 2026 from 5G-enabled market opportunities.