SoftBank said it plans to showcase this 5G network slicing system at TM Forum Digital Transformation World 2022
Japanese carrier SoftBank says that it has successfully completed automated 5G network slicing over 5G mobile networks and Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) applications.
“To make an end-to-end (E2E) network slice from a 5G mobile user to a MEC application, Segment Routing IPv6 Mobile User Plane (SRv6 MUP), pioneered by SoftBank, and SRv6 Flex-Algo were used for robustness and flexibility,” the carrier said in a release.
SoftBank also said it verified SRv6 MUP interoperability with 5G equipment at its laboratory. The telco noted that the next phase of the trial is to prepare SRv6 MUP technology for commercial deployment.
“SoftBank will continue to proceed with development and verification steps for SRv6 MUP, which is highly cost efficient and flexible for automated network slicing and MEC applications,” it added.
SoftBank said it plans to showcase this 5G network slicing system at TM Forum Digital Transformation World 2022, to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark next week.
“Through this demonstration, SoftBank will show that SRv6 MUP with SRv6 Flex-Algo can extend a 5G network slice that consists of a 5G core slice and an IP network slice to MEC applications but without the necessity of adding more 5G equipment and, to seamlessly automate this [end-to-end], otherwise complex process. By utilizing such simplified means of network slicing, an operator can expect a much shorter time to market of network slicing and MEC commercial services, but with reduced operational complexity,” SoftBank said
In May, SoftBank had opened a 5G Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) site in the Kanto region, which started the nationwide deployment of MEC servers in Japan.
SoftBank noted that its 5G MEC delivers a low-latency and secure service experience by using 5G SA commercial services.
The operator also said that its 5G MEC offering makes it possible for customers to experience high-speed services through the deployment of applications close to user devices within the 5G SA network, which significantly reduces server access times.
SoftBank’s 5G MEC platform provides a Kubernetes-based container environment, which is a de facto standard for application development.
In October 2021, SoftBank announced that it had started to offer 5G Standalone services. The Japanese carrier noted that the most important features of 5G SA networks are their ability to deliver network slicing and Private 5G networks, which are customized networks tailored to individual enterprise needs, and other connectivity features based on advanced technologies.
SoftBank had initially launched commercial 5G services in Japan through NSA architecture in March 2020.
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