Although network slicing will have a direct impact on mobile dedicated resources and their allocation, it will be the mobile transport network that will connect all the pieces together. Mobile network operators and wholesale transport providers will need a diverse set of transport tools to enable dynamic, deterministic packet delivery from the DWDM optical layer through to the IP layer as well as an open, intelligent controller to assign, monitor and manage resources and to interface with higher order OSS/BSS and service orchestration systems. Network automation and orchestration will also play a critical role in instantiating and manage network slices. To facilitate a best-of-breed approach, network operators should:

• Plan for network architectures where the mobile-dedicated resources and transport resources are from different suppliers.
• Ensure that their mobile transport infrastructure be open and programmable with published APIs and an SDN control framework.
• Adopt a broad toolbox that includes a rich set of IP/MPLS and optical DWDM capabilities.
• Work with an experienced mobile transport vendor with a history of IP and optical deployments.

In a nod toward ECI’s open approach and rich mobile deployment history, Ericsson announced a strategic partnership with ECI for 5G mobile transport in September 2018. The Muse software suite and ECI transport infrastructure solutions will be integrated with Ericsson’s end-to-end solutions for 5G and IoT use-cases. Click to read Network Slicing White Paper.