Vodafone claims first for commercial deployment of Local Slicing

Vodafone claims it has become the first UK operator to commercially launch 5G+ Local Slicing, targeting congestion in high-traffic environments.

The technology is aimed at venues such as stadiums, festivals and large public events, where thousands of devices compete for bandwidth at the same time.

Local Slicing assigns a dedicated portion of the 5G network to a specific venue or enterprise use case rather than relying on shared radio access network (RAN) capacity,

Vodafone has already deployed the capability at several major events, including the Coronation, Glastonbury Festival and the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. At the stadium, it ran a dual-slice trial to support both fan connectivity and operational communications under peak demand.

Local sliicing used at Glastonbury

While rivals have discussed network slicing as part of their 5G roadmaps, commercial deployments in the UK have so far been limited, leaving Vodafone looking to establish an early lead in the enterprise segment.

Nick Gliddon, Business Director at VodafoneThree, said the launch marks a shift in how networks can support enterprise requirements:

“Vodafone Business is first in the UK to make network slicing real for enterprise. Local Slicing changes that, with connectivity engineered around the needs of a business. Enterprise customers can now own their network performance, not just hope for it.”

Gliddonb: “Vodafone Business is first in the UK to make network slicing real”

For venue operators, this means the ability to run separate slices for fan connectivity, staff communications, security systems, ticketing, broadcast services and 5G cameras, each insulated from consumer traffic spikes.

Vodafone said the solution runs on its existing 5G infrastructure and does not require additional on-site deployment. Venues have traditionally relied on temporary cells, DAS upgrades or Wi-Fi offload to cope with peak demand.

Alongside Local Slicing, Vodafone has introduced ‘Network Boost’, a lighter-touch option for businesses that need improved performance in congested areas without committing to a fully dedicated slice.

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