Samsung and KDDI succeed in 5G network slicing

Samsung Electronics and Japanese telco KDDI have succeeded in verifying 5G network slicing technology, the South Korean tech giant said on Wednesday.

The test was done in a Tokyo lab that used a RAN intelligent controller with a handset, 5G base station, and 5G standalone core equipment, Samsung said.

5G network slicing is a network architecture that enables the multiplexing of virtualised and independent logical networks on the same physical network. Each slice is used for different tasks to allow networks to be ultra-fast and have ultra-low latency.

The technology will help with services such as autonomous driving, cloud gaming, and industrial Internet of Things applications thanks to low latency and high reliability, Samsung explained. 

It will also improve connection speeds for virtual reality, augmented reality, and ultra-high resolution video streaming services.

Samsung and KDDI's test also showed that users can switch between an ultra-fast virtual network and an ultra-low latency network without compromising connection quality for certain services, the South Korean tech giant said.

Moving forward, Samsung and KDDI have plans to propose an international standard for the technologies that were verified in its end-to-end 5G network slicing test.

KDDI launched its 5G services in March and is a major customer of Samsung Network.

Earlier this month, the South Korean tech giant announced that US telco Verizon also signed on to use its network equipment. The deal will see Samsung provide $6.6 billion worth of network equipment to the telco.

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