China Telecom is working with Huawei and China’s state grid to demonstrate how network slicing can be used to isolate a secure portion of the network for use by a private power grid.

The project, which is being headed by the China Telecom Beijing Research Institute, is using an ultra-low latency slice of the network to transmit smart grid applications that are automated and can be guaranteed with end-to-end service level assurance. The three participants in the project are testing various scenarios including automatic power distribution. They also are collecting information about electricity consumption.

The project uses Huawei’s cloud core network.

According to Zhu Xuetian, director of network technology and planning at the Department of China Telecom Beijing Research Institute, the project is the first time 5G network slicing is being tested for use by the power industry but the same scenario can be applied to other areas and business models. Huawei believes network slicing will be critical for other areas such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and the connected car.

In August Huawei launched its X-Haul platform that supports network slicing. X-Haul components include the use of IP, microwave, and optical transport network (OTN) access technologies. These are designed to support fronthaul, which is connectivity between telecom equipment and the transporting medium, and backhaul, which is the connectivity between telecom equipment and an IP network backbone.

As 5G moves closer to reality, many of the top vendors are turning their attention to network slicing. In June, the 5G-Transformer Project was formed to focus specifically on 5G network slicing. And just last month the 5G Mobile Network Architecture (Monarch) project launched with the intention of focusing specifically on how network slicing will be used to support various vertical markets including automotive, health care, and media.