TELUS and Ericsson accelerating commercial 5G applications with standards-based network slicing orchestration

TELUS and Ericsson accelerating commercial 5G applications with standards-based network slicing orchestration (CNW Group/Ericsson Canada)

MONTREAL — TELUS and Ericsson have conducted the first multi-vendor network slicing proof of concept in a lab environment based on 3GPP Release 16 and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Layer 3 NW Yang Model (L3NM). With the completion of this network slicing proof of concept, TELUS and Ericsson have successfully tested the maturity of standards and readiness of commercial products to meet the needs of enterprises and industry verticals.

“We are thrilled with the outcome — it shows that the network slicing technology is getting ready and we can take a leap forward in opening network services to serve large, untapped market opportunities,” said Ibrahim Gedeon, Chief Technology Officer, TELUS, in a prepared statement. “TELUS is always at the forefront of technology advancements. Our goals are to drive open networks, virtual services and a software-centric future. This development is very meaningful as it lays the technical foundation for 5G evolution into a service-aware network that we can fulfil our commitment in delivering excellent service quality. With collaboration from Ericsson, we are accelerating our journey to unlocking true 5G value for our clients and partners.”

Based on multi-vendor technology, this proof of concept deployed in a lab environment covered not only the vertical domains of Core and IP Transport slice, but also the horizontal aspect of customer and slice ordering assurance. To test the readiness of the orchestration technology stack for real-world 5G use cases, Ericsson employed its dual-mode 5G Core solution, CENX Service Assurance, and Ericsson Service Orchestrator, providing end-to-end and domain-specific orchestration capabilities as per 3GPP specifications.

“The goal of this proof of concept was to collaborate with a customer to bring network slicing orchestration from a theoretical perspective to practical application, validating key concepts within the requirements of two key standards bodies in a commercial environment,” said David Everingham, Chief Technology Officer, Ericsson Canada. “We’re on a quest to help our customers and partners accelerate the deployment of 5G technologies through automation and industrialization, and this proof of concept with TELUS gave us an opportunity to produce groundbreaking developments.”

In the proof of concept, TELUS and Ericsson verified enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and massive machine-type-communications (mMTC) telco-technical uses cases with plans to further collaborate on ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLCC). Completion of these three telco-technical use cases will enable TELUS to offer highly customized services to its customers in different verticals in a very simple and intuitive manner, leading the journey towards leveraging the 5G platform for differentiated enterprise businesses at scale.

“Network slicing represents a multi-billion dollar market opportunity for service providers like TELUS which when enabled, orchestrated and ultimately monetized propels them to the heart of the digital transformation of their enterprise customers,” said Peo Lehto, Head of Solution Area OSS, Ericsson. “The joint TELUS and Ericsson team have proved the potential of the standards and Ericsson’s network, orchestration and assurance products to accelerate and capture this market opportunity.”