5G network slicing market to reach $4.9 bn by 2027

The 5G Network Slicing Market by Infrastructure, Spectrum Band, Segment, Industry Vertical, Application and Services 2022 – 2027, according to Research and Markets.

Report findings:

• 5G network slicing market will reach $4.9 billion globally by 2027
• Global 5G slicing professional services will reach $324.7 million by 2027
• North America will lead the 5G slicing market followed by Asia Pac and Europe
• Network slicing management will reach $22.7 million by 2027 in North America
• Enterprise will lead the market but smaller organizations will grow 50% faster than corporations
• Collaboration among system integrators, vendors, and carriers is key to the long-term success of 5G network slicing
• Leading carriers will work diligently to extend trust and build relationships with vertical partners to optimize 5G solutions
• A key market segment, private wireless networks will require substantial vertical engagement to ensure 5G slicing is meeting their needs
• There is a keen need for service providers of all types (Carrier, Managed Service, Business User) to coordinate with application providers.

As networks become increasingly more complex, we see service providers taking a more intent-based networking approach to network management. Accordingly, leading carriers are incorporating various forms of network optimization such as network slicing into their OSS/BSS capabilities. This will be particularly important with 5G as the use cases for future applications and services are many and varied in terms of type, industry vertical focus, and requirements.

5G network slicing enables a highly programmable multi-service architecture, which consists of three layers (1) Service Instance Layer, (2) Network Slice Instance Layer, and (3) Resource Layer. One important architecture component is the Slice Selection Function (SSF), which handles device attach requests and new service establishments.

5G standalone, the base on which network slicing is built, will enable game services the right performance end-to-end (E2E) unlike 4G or Wi-Fi. E2E network slicing enables new business model innovation and use cases across all verticals, and creates new revenue opportunities for communication service providers. It provides service flexibility and ability to deliver services faster with high security, isolation, and applicable characteristics to meet the contracted SLA.

The SSF selects an optimal slice based on user information, device type, and capabilities. This supports one of the important goals of radio access management, which is to support configuration rules for each slice. 5G network slicing also allows for core networks to be logically separated in terms of connectivity and network capabilities. Separation of the control plane and user plane is a key aspect of the 5G network slicing market, allowing resources to be scaled independently.

One of the opportunities for carriers is to leverage 5G network slicing for new business development by way of expanded capabilities for virtual network operators (VNO). Since 5G network slicing enables multiple logical networks to act in an independent manner operationally, a VNO could support many different types of customers including consumers, enterprise, and industrial businesses. A network slice could be completely different for a consumer using an eMBB application versus an industrial URLLC application. For example, 5G network slicing allows for isolation of bandwidth, processing, storage, and Traffic. This allows resources to be allocated for QoS-specific needs.

Perhaps one of the most promising areas for carriers is to leverage 5G network slicing market capabilities to offer dynamic slicing with differentiated pricing based on customer needs and resource availability. Factors to consider for each slice allocation include bandwidth availability, latency support, and overall network elasticity to scale to customer needs. Additional factors that determine value and cost to the customer include network homogeneity, connection density, and type of connection.

CT Bureau