China Mobile has become one of several cross-industry players to jointly found the 5G Slicing Association, aimed at addressing industry vertical requirements and potential application scenarios of 5G network slicing.
The association, inaugurated during Mobile World Congress 2018, will study key technical issues in 5G network slicing, cooperate with slicing-related standards development organizations and forge test beds and trials aimed at verifying the capabilities of the technology.
Its main objectives also include the development of an industry-wide technical understanding for slicing and studying slicing use cases for various industries.
Other founding members of the association including Huawei, Tencent, Germany's Deutsche Telekom, Digital Domain and Volkswagen.
“Mobile communications are evolving from the 4G to the 5G, and we are entering the era of Internet of Everything. As the fundamental feature of 5G, network slicing does not only help the vertical industries to achieve digital transformation vision, but also brings new opportunities for operators to engage with the vertical market,” China Mobile Research Institute GM Zhang Tongxu said.
“We expect that 5G Slice Association will be the platform to connect the telecom industry with vertical industries. It will help to establish a common understanding of network slicing, establish an enriched industrial chain, incubate application innovation, and explore new business models.”