When 5G first launched back in 2019, it was heralded as a game-changing technology that could deliver tailor-made use cases for carriers and the mobile industry alike.

It was supposed to drive a noticeable change in customer experience, pushing use cases such as robotics and augmented reality.

Six years later, many in the industry would say it has failed to live up to expectations. Arguably, 5G was oversold. When it did launch, the reality of the much-hyped next-generation networking technology was underwhelming.

However, 5G has enabled network slicing, a feature which could help carriers claw back some of the hefty investments they made in the technology

Creating slices

Slicing allows telecom operators to create separate and isolated networks within their wider 5G network, and each slice can be configured differently.

Ericsson, which provides the equipment for many carrier’s 5G networks, is enthusiastic about the opportunities around network slicing.

“I truly believe that network slicing is the single most transformational thing we've done in years in the telecommunications space,” says Blessing Makumbe, Ericsson VP and head of cloud software and services for the UK and Ireland. “It’s created the ability for different use cases and customers are embracing this.”

The premise of network slicing is that it is designed to deliver custom-tailored solutions for specific users or classes of users.

Standalone is a must

For network slicing to work, a 5G Standalone network (5G SA) is essential. This is where the 5G network is not reliant on older mobile generations and solely uses a 5G core network. To many, 5G SA is the “real 5G.”

Although slices can be made out over a 4G network, the capabilities are limited.

“Technically it can be done, but in a less limited sense, and for the most part it is not being pursued. You have to have the bandwidth to slice, and 4G has limited bandwidth,” explains Dave Bolan, research director for mobile core network and multi-access Edge computing at research firm Dell'Oro Group.

Generally speaking, the rollout of 5G SA networks has been slow, and despite a flurry of 5G SA launches last year, including EE and Virgin Media O2 in the UK and Free in France, most 5G networks are still based on non-standalone (NSA).

“The non-standalone version had the anchor of 4G and was an improvement in terms of the capabilities of what could previously be offered,” says Kester Mann, director for consumer and connectivity at CCS Insight.

“But the real services and applications over 5G - thinking of things such as private mobile networks, and network slicing, and enterprise solutions - were part of the main vision of 5G at the beginning.”

As of September 2024, GSMA Intelligence reports that 57 mobile operators have launched 5G SA networks, while a total of 88 have plans to launch the service.

“The standalone network in some way makes the whole network programmable, and also with standalone, you can more or less reach a guaranteed outcome in terms of specific latency, specific bandwidth,” says Mats Karlsson, VP and head of solution area business and OSS, Ericsson.

Karlsson says that network slicing enables operators and vendors to manage their networks in more efficient ways, while it’s also able to help split the network up. Because of this, he claims that better network performance can be achieved, though he did not quantify this.

“With the introduction of standalone, there will also be more guaranteed outcome services that you deliver, such as slicing,” Karlsson adds. “Because today, a typical mobile network sometimes has very good capacity, and sometimes it doesn’t. But slicing can enhance reliability.”

Carriers pushing a variety of use cases

However, the industry has been given a taste of what can be seen once network operators launch 5G SA.

Deutsche Telekom for example, has utilized network slicing to support gaming, a use case that appeals to millions, while US subsidiary T-Mobile has deployed slices for broadcast crews and photojournalists.

In the UK, Vodafone paired with ITN to broadcast the Coronation of King Charles III using a public 5G SA network, using a dedicated slice of its network to broadcast the major event.

It’s not just the carriers too, vendors have also seen the benefits of network slicing.

During last year’s Glastonbury event, one of the UK’s biggest music festivals, Makumbe explained how network slicing was able to support stall vendors at the festival.

“It was not only beneficial to the fans and the end users but also to the businesses that were there with the point of sales,” he says. “We're seeing our customers really embracing it.”

Makumbe noted that telecom companies have traditionally had to rely on legacy connectivity such as 2G for payments at events like festivals, but through the creation of slices via 5G, it’s now much faster. He says slicing can enable more reliable transactions for businesses.

“You don't have those transactions that are being hung up by congestion on the network, like with 2G congestion. Instead of just having 90 percent of your transactions being successful, with a slice, you are guaranteed 100 percent of your revenue. So I think it's revolutionary in many ways,” he claims

Monetization

Telcos have struggled to make money from 5G, despite investing billions of dollars into their networks.

The pressure is mounting on these companies to deliver a return on that investment. While many carriers have had to sell assets such as telecom towers or data centers to fund expensive network rollouts and ease debts, those strategies aren’t sustainable long-term.

Instead, there’s a real need to squeeze more out of this technology. Some argue that network slicing could be the answer, or at least present a viable additional income stream.

“In terms of monetization for carriers, there’s a real ability to customize or tailor your network to a particular use case,” says Rick Mostaert, VP of product management for RAN, Mavenir Telecom.

An example of monetizing network slicing was demonstrated by Singaporean telco Singtel, which paired with Ericsson to use network slicing technology at the Singapore Grand Prix in 2022.

Singtel delivered live content to subscribers of its mobile video app CAST even in congested areas along the Marina Bay Street Circuit through network slicing. The service, available at an additional cost, is an example of how carriers can monetize specific use cases through network slicing.

“MNOs can expect to generate new revenues if they can guarantee the required service level agreement,” adds Bolan. “Network slicing is an excellent opportunity for MNOs to monetize their investment in 5G.”

He adds that technologies that can help deliver greater revenues for MNOs are high performance IoT Devices, which could enable a range of IoT data bandwidth-intensive devices, including high resolution streaming cameras, augmented reality glasses, and autonomous vehicles— automated guided vehicles, autonomous mobile robots, and drones.

Pushing the private use cases

Although the hype around 5G has often failed to resonate with consumers, the enterprise sector has looked at the opportunities it offers with more optimism.

Bolan says network slicing will be crucial to Mobile Private Networks (MPN).

“Network Slicing creates a logical private network that can only be used by subscribers that have signed up for a custom-tailored service level agreement,” says Bolan in a Dell’Oro report on network slicing.

“For industrial/enterprise users, this is a low-cost way to build a private network versus industrial/enterprises building and operating their own standalone MPN.”

He says that network slicing on shared MPNs can enable a range of use cases. These include online multiplayer video gaming, public safety, smart cities, logistic companies, and ad-hoc remote broadcasting.

Bolan says: “Another use case is for sports/entertainment/transportation venues, and fixed wireless access could be another. But to date, network slicing has not been widely used.

The shipping sector is a good example of an industry utilizing network slicing. Last year, Hrvatski Telekom, the Croatian subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, equipped a container port in Rijeka, Croatia, with a 5G network for port operators APM Terminals and ENNA Group.

T-Mobile’s T-Priority slice

In the US, T-Mobile has been a big advocate of network slicing, which it promotes as a key feature of its 5G SA network. The operator was the first carrier in the world to launch 5G SA back in 2020.

During Ericsson’s OSS/BSS Summit event in Paris last year, Muhammad Shakil, senior manager of software development at T-Mobile, explained that the carrier is generating revenue through the use of network slicing.

“Slices are being utilized, we are on track to increase our revenue in this space,” he claimed. “We already have slices with enterprises, next we want to have them in place for our subscribers.” Shakil didn’t provide any figures when making claims about an increase in revenue but did note that in the future there could be the opportunity to order specific network slices via the carrier’s app.

However, he did add that the carrier is “not there yet with consumer slicing.”

T-Mobile has offered network slicing solutions commercially since 2023, and has used slicing at some of the largest and most congested events in the US, such as the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

More recently, T-Mobile has showcased its network slicing capabilities during the wildfires that swept through Los Angeles in January 2025.

The company launched T-Priority in September, a dedicated service for first responders, that uses network slicing. During the fires in LA, T-Mobile has integrated networking slicing for the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). The company activated the T-Priority slice at no additional cost. It was the first major disaster since T-Mobile launched T-Priority.

“The slice was enabled directly onto LAFD's existing 5G-enabled devices, helping to ensure seamless integration. This gave LAFD members priority access to lower latency, consistently faster 5G speeds, greater 5G capacity, and the highest priority across all 5G bands, without the need for additional hardware or complex setup,” a T-Mobile spokesperson told DCD.

According to the carrier, the ability to deploy network slicing means it’s able to transform the 5G network into a highly flexible, efficient, and adaptable system capable of addressing the diverse and complex needs of specific use cases.

“It’s only possible on 5G SA because it relies on the 5G core’s modular service-based architecture for end-to-end slicing,” the spokesperson added.

“This helps to ensure dedicated performance, security, and reliability for each slice, which is crucial for industries like public safety, healthcare, and autonomous transportation. By enabling these highly specialized network capabilities, 5G SA unlocks the full potential of 5G technology.”

Long way to go yet

Although we’re seeing more examples of network slicing, the industry is still some way off in how it’s utilizing the opportunity.

According to Bolan, China has pushed ahead of other markets such as Europe and North America.

He points out that China Mobile has deployed more than 40,000 MPN use cases.

“In China, it is a mature technology, outside China it is still early days,” he summarizes. “The Chinese MNOs got off to a fast start deploying nationwide 5G SA networks.”

He urges the carriers that have not yet launched 5G SA to get on with it or risk missing out.

“These new opportunities cannot be addressed by 4G or 5G NSA networks, and the sooner an MNO embraces 5G SA networking, the closer it will be to reaping new revenue streams.”

Makumbe agrees. “We obviously need to see a lot more of it in Europe, and also where we are in the UK,” he says.

“I'm fairly certain that if we speak again in six months, we will see different types of use cases that we never thought were possible because of what network slicing is bringing out there.”

This feature first appeared in the DCD Telecoms Supplement. Read the supplement, free of charge, here.