Nokia, Safaricom explore 5G network slicing technology trial in Kenya
Nokia has announced the first successful trial of 4G/5G network slicing technology with Safaricom, Kenya’s largest telecommunications provider. This trial marks a major breakthrough for the two companies. It also signals Safaricom’s readiness to support new enterprise network services, including application slicing and ‘fast lane’ internet access.
Nokia will also secure FWA slice connectivity to enterprise locations and public and private application clouds.
“It is great to have successfully completed this pilot with Safaricom, which is a huge step forward in providing Safaricom with state-of-the-art connectivity,” said Ramy Hashem, Head of Safaricom Customer Team at Nokia. “Early experience of new slicing technology is invaluable in understanding the new business opportunities it enables.”
Network slicing enables operators to divide a network into multiple virtual slices. They can then optimize each slice for a specific target application or service and assign each user custom priorities, pathways, network performance levels, and security capabilities. A network can launch each slice quickly and efficiently, with each one having key performance indicators that guarantee service quality.
The trial pilot featured various solutions from Nokia, including AirScale 4G/5G base stations, NetAct network management and optimization software, and FastMile 5G Gateway.
“We are proud to have hosted Africa’s first successful pilot of 4G/5G FWA slicing on our network, said James Maitai, Network Director at Safaricom. “Nokia’s expertise has been key to this success, and we anticipate many more strategic wins in this area as our business expands.”
Analysis
The successful trial of 4G/5G network slicing technology between Nokia and Safaricom is a significant milestone for the telecommunications industry in Africa, which has seen a limited rollout of 5G across the continent. The slicing technology will allow operators to provide customers with customized priorities, pathways, network performance levels, and security capabilities. While consumer demand for 5G in Africa will likely be limited for some time due to the cost of handsets, among other issues, enterprise demand for use cases such as drones and autonomous vehicles in farming and mining could be aided by the availability of 5G capabilities such as slicing.
Article Topics
5G | Africa | network slicing | Nokia | Safaricom | wireless
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