In separate announcements, Ericsson and Nokia touted their latest collaborations with Google, demonstrating network infrastructure support for network slicing on devices running Android 13.
Network slicing is one of the big benefits of 5G, but its arrival on the commercial scene is taking longer than many might have imagined. It can be done on LTE and non-standalone (NSA) 5G, but a standalone (SA) 5G network is considered ideal, and that’s still in the works for a lot of incumbent operators.
Citing the GSMA, Ericsson said the market for network slicing in the enterprise segment is projected at $300 billion by 2025.
User Equipment Route Selection (URSP) is the feature that enables one device using Android to connect to multiple network slices simultaneously, and it’s a feature that both vendors are supporting.
Here’s how Nokia described URSP’s functionality: URSP capabilities extend network slicing to new types of applications and use cases, allowing slices to be tailored based on network performance, traffic routing, latency and security. For example, an enterprise customer could send business-sensitive information using a secure and high-performing network slice while participating in a video call using another slice at the same time.
Nokia’s trial with Google took place at Nokia’s network slicing development center in Tampere, Finland, and included LTE-5G New Radio slice interworking functionality, which allows operators to use existing network assets, underscoring that operators don't need a 5G SA core to enable network slicing.
Ericsson said that its results were achieved in an Interoperability Device Testing environment on Google Pixel 6 (Pro) devices using Android 13. In an expansion of the network slicing support offered by Android 12, Android 13 also will allow for up to five enterprise-defined slices to be used by the device’s work profile.
In situations where no USRP rules are available, carriers can configure their network so traffic from work profile apps can revert to a pre-configured enterprise Access Point Name connection, meaning the device will always keep a separate mobile data connection for enterprise-related traffic even if the network doesn’t support URSP delivery, according to Ericsson.