Businesses have traditionally relied on one shared network to handle a wide variety of tasks. However, as more devices require connectivity as part of the Internet of Things (IoT) and businesses digitize, it’s becoming apparent that the one-size-fits-all approach to networks need to change. Demand is growing for high-performance, flexible communications services that tailor network “slices” to individual service needs within a network.
Network slicing is when individual, virtual networks are built on top of a shared infrastructure, designed to serve a defined business purpose. A new study from Ericsson and Arthur D. Little, analyzing more than 400 5G use cases, identified six industries that stand to benefit most from network slicing: Healthcare, government, transportation/automotive, energy and utilities, manufacturing, and media and entertainment.
Dedicated network slices will power unique use cases
A few examples of use cases across key industries where network slicing will play a critical role:
- Transportation: As connected cars become more widespread — and complex — connectivity will become more and more important to the automotive industry. One use case empowered by network slicing that stands out is tele-operated driving, meaning vehicles operated by someone who is not behind the wheel, but rather in a remote location such as a control center. The high availability, ultra-low latency of network slicing will power the real-time HD video streaming needed to operate these vehicles while keeping them secure.
Other automotive use cases include coordinated groups of platooning vehicles driving closely together, automated lane change and real-time situational awareness.
- Healthcare: Remote treatment, especially in case of emergencies, has the potential to save lives through earlier identification of underlying conditions and getting help, faster. With remote treatment, emergency vehicles equipped with secure, reliable, low latency mobile HD video can monitor a patient from initial contact to the ER. Video and sensor data can be sent to AI deployed on edge computing resources, processing and analyzing data quickly. This video must be uninterrupted and high-quality; a dedicated network slice can provide this by isolating the traffic for increased security and high throughput.
Other healthcare use cases could include service robots supporting senior citizens, data collection for early detection of diseases through precision medicine, as well as using robotics for rehabilitation with real-time control.
- Energy and utilities: Field inspections of things like turbines at wind farms or solar panels are cumbersome and require frequent trips and many work hours. From a network perspective, these activities also rely on inadequate legacy systems. Cellular push-to-video, powered by a dedicated network slice, would allow maintenance workers to stream video capture of a problem to the cloud. From there, the video will become immediately available for a supervisor and/or manager to provide real-time support. Low-latency networks could also enable AR/VR experiences, as well as real-time data analytics.
Other network slicing-enabled use cases could include virtual power plants, connected remote windfarms and grid voltage monitoring.
- Government: Government emergency services such as police, fire, and public safety rely on communication technologies that simply have to be reliable and secure, like mission-critical push-to-talk. Network slicing eliminates data silos and allows secure, unhindered, high-performing data sharing across agencies, which is critical when responding to emergency situations.
Other potential government use cases powered by network slicing include visors and helmets enabled with AR/VR, drones and bomb-defusing robots.
- Manufacturing: AR-supported quality inspections and maintenance can help reduce a factory’s downtime by quickly identifying issues — or even detecting problems before they happen. AR devices will transfer images and real-time, HD videos to the cloud where data will be processed and managed, supported by a network slice that provides high throughput, high reliability and ultra-low latency. With AR devices, instructions can be displayed directly in the glasses, enabling the worker to conduct the troubleshooting more effectively.
Other manufacturing use cases for network slicing include remotely controlled robots, 3D video-driven interaction between collaborative robots and humans, as well as optimizing processes inside the factory.
- Media and entertainment: Remote broadcasting has the potential to revolutionize the way live events like sports are covered. With reliable connectivity from a dedicated network slice, most of the personnel involved in a live broadcast of an event can control cameras, mix and edit content and in real time, even if they are working from a location hundreds or thousands of miles away. The ultra-low latency of a network slice on a 5G network could also provide lag-free switching between camera angles — and this is all possible without complicated and costly on-site equipment like fiber optic cables and satellite connections.
Other entertainment use cases for network slicing could include second scene VR broadcasting and on-site live event experiences, as well as the quick deployment of additional bandwidth to a breaking news site like a natural disaster.
These represent some of the most promising industry segments and use cases for network slicing that communication service providers (CSPs) can pursue. The study found that the addressable network slicing revenue opportunity alone is $200 billion, so the potential for growth is immense.
To capture that growth, CSPs will need to move deepen their understanding of verticals beyond providing connectivity, and become fully integrated partners that understand a complex and rapidly changing landscape.
