Vodafone has successfully completed a trial to demonstrate the use of multiple 5G Standalone (5G SA) network slices being used concurrently for different use cases at a live event.
The company dedicated two slices of connectivity for varying uses at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff during the Wales versus Ireland Six Nations match on Saturday.
Former Wales and Cardiff Rugby star Ellis Jenkins hosted a social media watch-along live from the match, enabled by network slicing on Vodafone’s 5G SA network.
The dedicated network slice, created in partnership with Ericsson, provided connectivity to rugby fans in Vodafone’s Hospitality area at Principality Stadium – where Jenkins was seated. Through this slice, Vodafone customers – including Jenkins – were able to seamlessly live stream the match, browse the Internet and social media, or share images with friends and family – without any interruptions.
The second slice of connectivity was reserved for the WRU’s official in-house photography agency – Huw Evans Picture Agency – to ensure the upload of images was not impacted by slow Internet speeds caused by too many people and devices competing for a signal in the stadium.
That second upload slice was created to provide a minimum upload throughput, isolating the traffic from network congestion and providing uninterrupted connectivity. The increased speed and reliability of delivery allowed the photographer to upload even large unedited image files within 30 seconds.
Network slicing is a 5G SA capability which allows Vodafone to create different virtual networks on the same physical infrastructure. Known as slices, each one is dedicated to a particular service, ensuring its performance is not impacted by other users’ demands on the network.
Nick Gliddon, business director, 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.”