The combination of network slicing templates with platform modularity and programmability helps to realize significantly shorter time to market, as well as cost savings when new network slices have to be provisioned. This is facilitated by the ability to reuse building blocks from existing network slices, or to replace building blocks with other NFs in the catalog, and perform any necessary changes, to meet the new network slice requirement. As new services are created within a dedicated network slice, the service creation time is simplified, and the isolated nature of network slices reduces the risk that the new service will impact any other service that shares the same resources.

Automating the network behavior and operations requires that policies be set during the slice design process and then enforced at run time. These policies are sets of conditions, requirements, constraints, attributes, or needs that must be provided, maintained, and/or enforced to enable service delivery, in accordance with its defined service characteristics and commitments to customers. Policies are set for each individual network function that is included in the network slices, and for the end-to-end network slice services.

In addition, service policies are defined and used during the service execution and activation operations, as well as policies for the slice closed loop and service assurance operations.

Figure 5: Illustration View of Network Slice Service Design