Vodafone UK Trial Simultaneous Use of Multiple 5G Standalone Network Slices

Mobile operator Vodafone has announced that they’ve completed a new trial that showcased their ability to deliver multiple 5G Standalone (SA) network slices simultaneously for different use cases. This included one that delivered a seamless live video stream and another that was required to ensure guaranteed upload speeds for a photography agency at the same site.

At present, most existing 5G networks in the UK are Non-Standalone (NSA) based, which means they’re still partly reliant on older and slower 4G infrastructure. By comparison, 5GSA reflects a pure end-to-end 5G network that can also deliver improvements such as lower latency times (fast), better mobile broadband upload speeds, network slicing capabilities, improved support for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, increased reliability and security.

In this new trial, Vodafone dedicated two portions of its new 5G SA network during the Wales vs. Ireland Guinness Men’s Six Nations match at Principality Stadium to provide dedicated connectivity using network slicing (a good test as the network will have been under heavy load for such an event).

As part of this, Welsh rugby legend, Ellis Jenkins hosted a seamless livestream watch-along made possible on a reserved slice of Vodafone’s network. At the same time a second slice was dedicated to support “guaranteed upload speeds and separation from wider network congestion” for Huw Evans Picture Agency, the WRU’s official in-house photography agency.

Nick Gliddon, Business Director at Vodafone UK, said:

“Network slicing allows us to work with our customers and adapt the network to suit their needs. This is a huge advantage of 5G Standalone – customers can define their own experience with a network which is built for them. As a result, businesses can expect to improve the efficiency of operations, help drive productivity gains and introduce new services to their customers that would not be possible otherwise.”

The network slice was created in partnership with Vodafone’s technology partner Ericsson, separating a portion of the capacity connecting to Ericsson technology on Vodafone’s mobile site. Sadly, Vodafone didn’t release any technical or performance data from the trial, but we should add that all operators deploying 5G SA should be able to deploy similar solutions.