On the MWC Las Vegas keynote stage, John Saw talks slicing
LAS VEGAS—Network slicing continues to gain momentum, with T-Mobile US CTO John Saw announcing a nationwide expansion of the carrier’s network slicing beta program for developers, as well as a new “security slice” service that leverages the 5G feature.
T-Mobile US first announced the beta program last month; it is focused on enabling developers to optimize video calling as part of their applications. In addition to expanding geographic access to a customized video calling network slice (through T-Mobile US’ DevEdge program), Saw announced that access has been extended to Android developers; the slicing feature is supported on Samsung’s Galaxy S23 devices.
Saw also highlighted another network slicing implementation—this one for remote video production, at a Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series event in Boston, Massachusetts in early June.
“We didn’t just build the largest, fastest and most advanced 5G network so our customers can immediately benefit from the improved performance. We also want our network to serve as a platform for innovation,” said Saw.
The first network slicing service that T-Mobile US will offer is a secure network slice, called T-Mobile Security Slice, which it says is the first network slice dedicated to a commercial offering in the U.S.
The slice will be offered under the umbrella of what the carrier is calling T-Mobile Secure Access Service Edge (SASE). The other new security service is the SIM-based T-SIMsecure, which T-Mo says is the “first SIM-based SASE solution that uses International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) for clientless authentication.” Devices that don’t have a T-Mobile SIM “can still download and set up the SASE device client regardless of carrier or Wi-Fi network,” according to the carrier. The SASE service also offers private access to corporate networks and secure internet access for protection from threats like viruses and malware, T-Mobile US said.
The new security services are expected to be available by the end of this year.
Saw also emphasized the 5G ecosystem taking shape, and the need for operators to fuel and fund innovators who want to put together new services and solutions, as he announced that T-Mobile US is starting up a second corporate venture fund to put money into mid- and growth-stage companies that augment or expand T-Mobile US’ core services and represent potential growth areas for consumer and business network usage.
Saw also took the opportunity at MWC Las Vegas to tout the strength of T-Mobile US’ network. T-Mobile US has the highest capacity network in wireless history, Saw declared, with its midband coverage alone reaching 285 million potential customers and on-target to reach 300 million by the end of this year. “We have room to increase capacity even more,” he added, with additional spectrum at 3.45 GHz, in the millimeter-wave range and additional 2.5 GHz licenses that it acquired at auction (once it receives all of them from the FCC, which has been a point of contention due to the agency’s loss of auction authority), as well as the ability to re-farm AWS airwaves.
Meanwhile, Saw said, more than 70% of the smartphones on T-Mo’s network are 5G-capable and that 5G now generates more than 70% of its traffic. 5G users, he said, are streaming twice as much video as LTE users, gaming four times more than LTE users, streaming music more than three times LTE users and more than doubling LTE data use for social media.
