etisalat by e& and Huawei recently demonstrated the Middle East and Africa’s one-of-its-kind 5G network slicing on a commercial 5G Cloud Core. This is a significant milestone for both companies and a transformational benefit for the United Arab Emirates vertical industries. This also marked a ground-breaking step for etisalat by e& towards the commercialization of the Network-as-a-Service.
Network slicing involves creating multiple virtual networks on a shared physical or dedicated network, allowing operators to offer customers different network parts based on their specific needs. Each network slice is individually configured with its security measures and latency settings, tailored to meet the requirements of various applications in a Network-as-a-Service fashion. etisalat by e& can now efficiently allocate network resources by utilizing cloud-native virtualized applications on the 5G Cloud Core, integrated with Network Orchestrator, Network Slice Management Function, and Communication Service Management Function. Network slicing enables effective resource utilization, cost reduction, and operational efficiency.
For this successful demonstration, etisalat by e& used a commercial 5G smartphone, commercial radio access network (RAN) equipment, and their commercially deployed 5G standalone core. The company performed a test that thoroughly evaluated the end-to-end service SLAs capabilities implementation on a virtual network slice, confirming the optimal functioning of various components such as the device chipset, operating system, applications, radio network base station, and network core. etisalat by e&’s cloud-based Core will be accessible for devices compatible with 5G network scaling.
Combining network capabilities, End-User Interface platforms, and an understanding of enterprise applications connectivity requirements, etisalat by e& aims to create A One-Stop Shop library of Product Catalogs for various vertical industries. When choosing from a wide range of connectivity services, enterprises can greatly benefit from utilizing Product Catalogs. These catalogs offer a thorough understanding of the company`s offerings, including the option for add-on applications and various business models. This level of detail can provide valuable insights for enterprises seeking comprehensive solutions.
The company aims to expedite the availability of its commercial Slicing services network nationwide. Their growth strategy focuses on 5G mobility, nationwide broadband, mobile edge computing, and business solutions. This deployment will significantly improve network performance and ensure unprecedented service agility, flexibility, and automated scalability, with notable growth in 5G adoption and fixed wireless broadband momentum.
Khaled Al Suwaidi, Senior Vice President, Core Networks and Platforms, etisalat by e&, said: “We are proud to partner with Huawei to further strengthen our technology offerings that plays a integral role in the acceleration of digital transformation driving thousands of industries towards cloudification, urging the need for agile and differentiated service SLA to meet the diversified service requirements. The Network-as-a-Service using Network Slicing Technologies has become one of the main pillars significantly improving the availability of different connectivity options for vertical industries with efficient business models and high-quality connectivity services.” Gavin Wang, Head of Etisalat Key Account at Huawei Technologies, said, “The UAE continues to be at the forefront of adopting cutting-edge technology as it strengthens its position as a global technology hub. Huawei has enjoyed a long-standing, successful partnership with etisalat by e&, and we will continue leveraging our advanced solutions and extensive experience to enable etisalat by e& speed up its network evolution and offer a more comprehensive range of top-notch communication services to industry customers. Huawei is honored to have played an integral role in building the foundation of the UAE’s digital economy and boosting intelligent digital transformation across the country and the wider Middle East and Africa region.”
