Deutsche Telekom (DT), Ericsson and SK Telecom have jointly built and demonstrated what they claim to be the world’s first intercontinental 5G trial network. In 5G, network slicing will allow the operator to configure an end-to-end network that provides the desired overall functionality and service parameters; federated network slicing for 5G roaming extends this concept to a visited network. The technology will make it possible for an operator to provide a network service globally, making sure that the customer does not need individual agreements with different operators for a global service experience. The trio have successfully demonstrate optimised end-user experiences with 5G roaming, and DT and SK Telecom network slices are now available in the other operator’s footprint, connecting Germany and South Korea.
A pre-requisite for federated network slicing for 5G is an enhanced cooperation model where operators open up their network to host partner services. The home and visited operators must have agreements in place that enable the recreation of a given network slice in the visited network. ‘5G is not just a faster network. 5G will provide extreme user experience anywhere and anytime, even when the user roams across different operators globally,’ said Alex Jinsung Choi, CTO at SK Telecom, adding: ‘Federated network slicing will enable seamless platform sharing among operators at a global scale for continuous and guaranteed user experience.’