Singapore operator Singtel and Nokia have agreed to collaborate on the development and testing of 5G network slicing capabilities, based on a Network as a Service (NaaS) approach that provides customers with customisable services for 5G use cases and applications. Singtel expects to be able to offer an enterprise customer a secured network slice on demand, in a matter of minutes. Currently, such a network service would take weeks or months to implement, the operator added. The 5G network slicing trials will be conducted and tested with organisations later this year in Singapore.
Nokia recently announced the launch of slicing network functionality for 4G and 5G New Radio systems, saying it is the first vendor to offer this capability. The new system to support connectivity from 4G and 5G devices over the sliced network to applications running in private and public clouds will be available this summer. Nokia is already testing the services with the operators A1 and Telia.
