What does your job at Telefónica involve?
I work as a Project Manager in the Business Services Development area. In this group we manage projects that are transferred to us from the business areas. In some cases they are projects to evolve existing services and in others they become new services within the company.
We are responsible e2e for the development of the services, coordinating multidisciplinary groups that are part of different areas of the company, Network, Systems, Marketing, Operations, Security. Together with the team, we design the technical solution and the system developments, which, once implemented, enable the commercial launch of the new services or their evolutions.
For those of us who are not very clear, could you explain what network slicing is and how it works?
To illustrate it better, many experts compare this technology to an intelligent motorway: although all the roads are built on the same infrastructure, each lane is reserved for a specific type of vehicle.
Network slicing works the same way: reservation and segmentation of network resources. The physical network is divided into several independent virtual ‘lanes’, which we call slices.
Each of these slices could be configured to suit the specific needs of a use case, for example: one slice for video games in the cloud, with low latency, another for remote patient monitoring, with high reliability and security, or for massive sensor connections in smart cities.
What are the advantages of this technology?
Network slicing technology offers multiple advantages, including the optimal use of infrastructure. The network can be divided into several independent parts, allowing resources to be allocated efficiently, preventing one service from ‘hogging’ resources that others might need. Each slice could meet specific quality of service (QoS) parameters, maintaining user connectivity in times of congestion.
Although there is still a long way to go, I believe that network slicing is a key technology in the context of 5G networks, which in the future will offer operators the possibility to innovate in the creation of new personalised services, allowing them to adapt the network to the requirements of each user or industry.
What is the relationship between network slicing and 5G?
As I mentioned earlier, these concepts are related; we could say that network slicing is the perfect ally of 5G. The advanced 5G architecture is designed to support this technology including resource virtualisation and a greater ability to handle multiple services simultaneously on the same infrastructure.
Together they enable personalised connectivity that drives digital transformation across multiple sectors. In short, 5G through network slicing will make mobile networks more flexible, efficient and capable of meeting the growing demands of end users and enterprises.
What impact can network slicing have on the business world?
Much remains to be discovered, but I believe this technology has the potential to significantly transform the business landscape. It will allow operators to create new customised services where enterprises could have network slices tailored to their operations and services. This customisation capability could allow each enterprise to have a network optimised for its own processes and services.
Can you give us a practical example of the application of network slicing?
In this area, our company is a pioneer in incorporating this technology into our services and I have been fortunate enough to be part of it as project leader. We have worked specifically on the development of mobile broadband services (eMBB), which is part of one of the 4 types of services that can be offered through network slicing (eMBB is currently the only type of slice supported in the network that mobile terminals can handle).
Specifically, we have launched the Movistar Intranet service with network slicing, which allows users on premium lines to enjoy an optimal connectivity experience in high demand situations. This translates into an improved user experience and improved services because when a user is in a slice with resource reservation, their connectivity will not be affected during times of congestion.
Which colleague do you nominate for this interview that you consider a crack at his job?
I nominate Javier García Calzada and Javier González González for their professionalism and comradeship. Both show exceptional dedication to their work and are an example to everyone.
