Samsung and KDDI Successfully Complete SLA Assurance Network Slicing Field Trial on Live 5G Standalone Network – Samsung Global Newsroom

Companies Combine Technology Expertise to Deliver First Demonstration of Network Slicing Using RIC on a Live 5G SA Network

Samsung Electronics and KDDI announced the successful demonstration of Service Level Agreement (SLA) assurance network slicing during a field trial conducted in Tokyo, Japan. For the first time in the industry, enterprises have proven their ability to generate multiple network slices using an Intelligent RAN Controller (RIC) on a live commercial Autonomous (SA) 5G Network. The RIC, provided by Samsung as part of this field trial, is a software component of the Open RAN architecture that optimizes the radio resources of the RAN to improve the overall network quality.

Network slicing allows multiple virtual networks to be created within a single physical network infrastructure, where each slice is dedicated to a specific application or service — serving different purposes. For example, operators can create a low-latency slice for automated vehicles, an IoT slice for smart factories, and a high-bandwidth slice for live video streaming. — all within the same network. This means that a single network can simultaneously support a wide range of use cases, accelerating the delivery of new services and meeting the personalized demands of diverse businesses and consumers.

“Network slicing will help us enable a wide range of services that require high performance and low latency, benefiting both consumers and businesses,” said Toshikazu Yokai, General Manager, General Manager of the technical development of mobile networks at KDDI. “Working with Samsung, we continue to deliver the most innovative technologies to enhance the customer experience.”

Through this field trial conducted in Q4 2022, KDDI and Samsung have proven their SLA assurance capabilities to generate multiple network slices that meet SLA requirements, guaranteeing specific performance parameters — such as low latency and high throughput — for each application. Samsung has also proven the technical feasibility of multiple user equipment (UE)-based network slices with quality assurance using RIC, which performs advanced RAN control as defined by the O-RAN alliance.

“Network slicing will unlock countless opportunities, enabling KDDI to deliver tailored high-performance connectivity, as well as new capabilities and services, to its customers,” Junehee Lee, executive vice president, chief Global Sales and Marketing, Enterprise Networks at Samsung Electronics. “This demonstration is another significant step forward in our efforts to advance technology innovation and enrich network services. We are delighted to have accomplished this with KDDI and look forward to continuing our collaboration. »

For more than a decade, the two companies have worked together, achieving major milestones in 5G networks, including: Samsung’s selection by KDDI as a 5G, end-to-end 5G network solution provider network slicing demonstration in the lab, 5G network deployment on 700MHz and the deployment of 5G vRAN on the KDDI commercial network.

Samsung has pioneered the successful delivery of end-to-end 5G solutions including chipsets, radios and cores. Through continuous research and development, Samsung is pushing the industry to advance 5G networks with its market-leading product portfolio, from virtualized RAN and Core to private network solutions and automation tools powered by the ‘IA. The company currently provides network solutions to mobile operators that provide connectivity to hundreds of millions of users worldwide.