URSP and SD-WAN: Preparing for the future of Network Slicing

The current state of 5G sits at an inflection point. As 5G standalone networks continue to grow in number, network slicing capabilities are becoming more of a reality.

The enterprise needs to take advantage of these capabilities such as predictable and reliable transport for business-critical applications, as well as the ability to support differentiated services over a single 5G connection

If enterprises can harness this power of network slicing, they’ll be able to improve business operations — with always-on critical business functions — in addition to maximizing their investments in 5G.

The answer to fully harnessing all that network slicing has to offer lies in a strategic combination of UE Route Selection Policy (URSP) and SD-WAN solutions.

The current state of network slicing

The attraction of network slicing lies in the promise of a dedicated service level agreement (SLA) for WAN networking — without a physical wire. 5G standalone networks have been a recent development, making network slicing a relatively new technology. The last WAN transport technology that was backed by an SLA was MPLS.

Recently, major carriers have begun to present a few network slicing options, which indicates immediate growth in network slicing possibilities for the near future. This will be important for multiple industries, such as public safety and retail.

In fact, currently, public safety agencies can take advantage of dedicated 5G network slices to ensure they have dedicated resources for public safety connectivity even in emergency situations when the cellular network is congested.

In industries such as retail, network slice service offerings will be important to provide dedicated resources for point-of-sale systems.

While these offerings represent exciting opportunities for enterprises, they only represent a small portion of the destination to which network slicing is heading.

The future of network slicing

Current network slicing offerings, like the ones discussed above, are single-slice offerings. This is the equivalent of purchasing a single connection for a dedicated function. This future is one of multi-slice offerings that create more than one dedicated network for critical functions within an enterprise.

For example, a hospital could use network slicing to create a slice specifically for telemedicine consultations, ensuring low latency and high bandwidth for real-time video communication between doctors and patients.

Another slice could be dedicated to critical medical devices such as remote patient monitoring systems, guaranteeing high reliability and security.

The multi-slice future of network slicing will provide enterprises a more definitive vision for how they will support further investment in AI-led innovation, 5G technology, and expanded cloud infrastructure. To capitalize on this future, however, they need the right technology that can maximize the future of network slicing.

The correlation between URPS, SD-WAN, and the future of network slicing

The implementation of multiple network slices on a single SIM card can only work if the intended applications are steered to the correct slices. It’s like taking a road trip of sorts. The only way to take the quicker route effectively is if the vehicles actually end up on that route.

For mobile phones, URSP has been the industry standard for sending the right traffic on the right network slice to the right applications in the cloud or data center. Let's say, for example, a consumer is looking for directions on a navigation app.

URSP helps the proper navigation data travel on the best path to the device so the user knows how to get to their destination.

In addition to traffic steering, URSP has the foundational technology to dynamically provision network slices on an enterprise’s modem. With each of these advantages, the question becomes, if URSP has the fundamental technology to direct data and provision network slices, where is the need for SD-WAN?

While URSP has great traffic navigation abilities for applications that reside on mobile phones, it has shortcomings when it comes to implementations on enterprise routers.

Today’s enterprises can use as many as thousands of applications and will therefore need technology that can recognize applications on a large scale and sufficiently direct traffic in a multi-slice environment.

SD-WAN (or software-defined wide area network) network technology has long been the industry standard in recognizing application traffic and transporting it across multiple WAN links.

As the enterprise steps into the world of multi-network slices, it will need SD-WAN technology that can act as the proverbial dispatcher, recognizing the application and sending it across the correct slice.

With this in mind, the foundation for a multi-slice future will not be either URPS or SD-WAN. The goal of enterprises should be to find solutions that can support both URPS and SD-WAN technology, creating a path for the most efficient use of a multi-slice framework.

Preparing for what’s next in 5G

Although network carriers have started rolling out network slicing solutions, multiple carriers have been hindered by the inability to acquire more mid-band spectrum (where 5G SA networks live). The acquisition of more 5G SA networks will translate to increased network slicing services in the future.

This wait in mid-bad acquisition was tied directly to the Federal Communications Commission’s inability to auction off this spectrum. However, due to the passing of the Trump Administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill” that the FCC has retained auctioning authority.

This should set the stage for more spectrum acquisitions, but any multi-slicing capabilities will remain in early stages in the near future.

As more spectrum is acquired and 5G standalone networks begin to roll out, enterprises have time to decide how to prepare for the network slicing future. They have the opportunity to properly analyze URPS and SD-WAN solutions that can create the best possible foundation for multiple network slices.

In turn, they will create a foundation for a robust and resilient network that can handle the enterprises’ growing dependence on large-scale AI and cloud computing technologies.

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