US operator Verizon hailed a milestone for 5G network slicing capabilities after conducting demonstrations using a commercially available smartphone to pass data over its network, as it looks to create an additional revenue stream using its standalone (SA) core.

The operator registered the smartphone to multiple network slices to pass data across its virtual and physical RAN.

Verizon stated the trial “validated the ability for the device chipset, operating system, application, radio network base station and the core of the network to work together” to provide an end-to-end path for data to travel on a virtual network slice.

The operator noted it only works on devices compatible with 5G network slicing.

A Verizon representative told Mobile World Live it plans to provide more details on compatible devices in the near future.

Adam Koeppe, SVP of technology planning at Verizon, stated network slicing matches network performance characteristics to specific applications to deliver differentiated customer experiences.

The operator noted this allows enterprise customers to send their traffic over virtual end-to-end chunks tailored to each application while optimising traffic.

Verizon’s representative said the demonstrations ran during April and May.