Spain’s Telefónica, Ericsson, and Google headlined laboratory work to orchestrate an end-to-end automated network slicing concept in a 5G standalone (SA) environment, including lifecycle support and radio resource portioning.

The laboratory test showed the ability to onboard a network slice from the core to the radio access network (RAN) in less than 35 minutes. These included self-described “complex service configurations” that required full automation to manage the provisioning and service assurance of the network slice.

The test used Ericsson’s Dynamic Radio Resource Partitioning technology that is part of the vendor’s 5G RAN Slicing software platform it launched in early 2021. The technology dynamically allocates spectrum resources at millisecond intervals to support different service requirements across network slices. It was first commercially deployed earlier this year by the Malaysian government’s Digital Nasional Berhad division.

The proof-of-concept also used Google’s Android smartphone operating system, smartphone concepts from Google, Samsung, TCL, and Xiaomi, and chipsets from MediaTek, Qualcomm, and Samsung. It used those commercial products to demonstrate the ability to select the traffic sent to the different network slices.

The companies said they will share the test results with industry trade group GSMA and the broader ecosystem toward the standardization of network slicing development and adoption.

The trial marks another sign of progress toward the commercialization of the technology. 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 analyst 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.”

And GlobalData Principal Analyst Tammy Parker explained “5G features such as network slicing should enable U.S. mobile operators to offer customized services that support specific use cases such as cloud gaming.”

However, progress has been slow.

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. This followed network trials with operators in Asia.

Germany’s Deutsche Telekom showed off a trial with Ericsson and Samsung in mid-2021. It used Ericsson’s 5G SA core and a Samsung smartphone to support a mobile gaming service.

T-Mobile US recently launched commercial voice traffic running over its 5G SA RAN core in a pair of markets on its way toward nationwide availability. The service allows compatible devices to remain connected to the carrier’s 5G network for both voice and data sessions, and eventually allow it to include voice services as part of its network slicing abilities.

Telefónica in its latest work only hinted at ongoing work toward eventual commercialization.

“We look forward to continued collaboration with our partners and the rest of the industry to make slicing a commercial success for all,” Cayetano Carbajo, director of core and transport at the carrier, said in a statement tied to the Ericsson and Google work.