Nokia and Finish telecom operator Telia are working toward a uniquely sliced first, touting plans to launch a commercial 5G standalone (SA) network with network slicing capabilities for fixed-wireless access (FWA) broadband services. The move could set the stage for operators to better penetrate the private 5G wireless space.

The latest news has Nokia installing products from its AirScale portfolio into Telia’s network, including 5G radio and baseband products. Telia will use that equipment to offer broadband 5G FWA services that run on a standalone core and uses network slicing technology to support service level agreements (SLAs).

Telia has a long history with its fellow Finish company Nokia. This includes long-standing use of Nokia’s equipment for its telecom network and using the vendor’s SD-WAN platform.

The pair claim the newly combined trio of features is the first in the world.

T-Mobile US activated the first 5G SA network in mid-2020, using equipment from Nokia, Cisco, and to a lesser extent Ericsson. It was joined later that year by all three of China’s largest carriers, and Rain in South Africa. Telia was one of 13 other operators to launch a 5G SA network in 2021.

A 5G SA core is vital for operators to support the breadth of 5G services and use cases. One of those is network slicing, which continues to be a relatively unique commercial feature in the market.

Analyst firms have for years been touting the financial benefit of commercial network slicing capabilities, especially tied to penetrating different market verticals.

ABI Research in late 2018 predicted 5G network slicing would generate “$66 billion in value for enterprise verticals including manufacturing, logistics, and transportation by 2026.” The research firm more recently noted that operators need to pay “attention to 5G slice-as-a-service and other ‘value-add services’ which are critical to monetization.”

Nokia released multi-vendor network slicing software in late 2020 that allows network operators to spin up and scale down virtual slices of their respective networks for various uses.

Nokia and Telia earlier this year deployed a commercial 5G edge slicing service. They claimed this first allows operators to offer their enterprise customers more advanced VPN services over commercial 4G LTE and 5G networks.

And FWA services are starting to gain traction as a way for mobile operators to penetrate the home and enterprise broadband markets. ABI Research noted the ability to offer SLAs in each network slice is a key component for enterprise adoption.

“The expectation is that enterprises will pay a premium for 5G slices that guarantee SLAs for diverse services as opposed to uniform offerings,” the firm explained. “Furthermore, enterprises have differentiated requirements for isolation and security. This is especially important given that for connected ‘things’ (e.g., dumb IoT terminals), cost and time to market are typically prioritized over security.”