5G network slicing – get a slice of the 5G action!

The race towards 5G monetization is setting the stage for service providers to leverage the full power of network slicing. With its ability to support diverse services, each with specific performance requirements, on a common network platform – network slicing is a powerful 5G enabler that brings compelling commercial opportunities.

Amdocs surveyed senior decision-makers at 50 of the world’s largest operators to learn from their vision and plans for network slicing and 5G monetization. Almost two thirds (64%) believe rolling out 5G network slicing in the next 2 years is critical to competing successfully.

believe that service providers must roll out 5G network slicing in the next 2 years

Implementation plans

84%

are already trialing or plan to trial 5G network slicing in 2020

Plan to implement in 3 to 5 years, 14% 14% 54% 30% Already trialing a solution, 54% Plan to trial a solution next year, 33% No plans yet, 2%

44%

intend to support 10’s of slices

Planned number of slices

10’s, 44% Don’t know yet, 28% 100’s, 12% Fewer than 10, 16% 28% 44% 12% 16%

Monetizing 5G – where’s the value of network slicing?

Network slicing is key to monetizing 5G. Over half of respondents (52%) see “charging for a dedicated network slice” as the leading approach to slice monetization.

84%

of respondents felt that Network Slice as a Service was one of the top 3 most monetizable slice features.

Network Slice as a Service (NSaaS) 84% Latency Throughput Number of connected devices Geographic coverage 66% 56% 48% 46%

72%

believe network slicing is the next real gamechanger in customer experience, enabling tailored, fit-for-purpose and diverse use cases that empower the digital world.

What are the priority use cases for network slicing?

“5G network slicing will allow operators to tailor and slice the network to address specific use-case and customer requirements, a significant change from the previous generation of one-size-fits-all mobile networks”.

Rohit Mehra, Vice President of Network Infrastructure, IDC

Three quarters of respondents state that service-based use cases such as IoT, connected cars and smart homes, will see the biggest impact of 5G network slicing, at least initially.

Almost 20% believe vertical industry-based use cases, such as health, agriculture, mining and manufacturing will see a significant impact from 5G network slicing.

Survey respondents are interested in a broad range of potential network slice use cases:

What key capabilities are needed to manage the slice lifecycle?

70% believe current operational systems cannot handle the adaptive, real-time resource allocation needed for 5G network slicing.

Almost two-thirds state successful monetization of 5G network slicing demands adaptive, real-time operational systems integrated with the BSS.

"End-to-end monetization/integration with ordering and charging" was cited by 9 out of 10 respondents as a top 3 ranking capability of a network slicing lifecycle management solution.

Amdocs 5G Slice Manager

5G network slicing will revolutionize service providers’ business models. For the first time, operators will be able to charge based on the utilization and performance of a slice or a service. The ability to do this rests on automated, zero-touch and closed-loop slice lifecycle management - top-down and across the network. This is where Amdocs 5G Slice Manager comes in.

The solution is designed to help service providers accelerate their 5G journey, providing a comprehensive set of capabilities to manage and monetize 5G network slices from design to creation, launch and beyond with on-going closed-loop operations.

The possibilities of 5G network slicing