Telefónica touts new standard for app-aware 5G slicing

Telefónica has announced the finalisation of a new GSMA standard designed to facilitate application-aware 5G network slicing, marking a significant milestone for the telecommunications industry. The operator lead the initiative to establish a common framework that allows mobile applications to communicate directly with the network to request specific performance parameters. This development is expected to resolve previous technical hurdles regarding how individual devices and software components interact with sliced virtual networks.

The primary objective of the new standard is to ensure that mobile applications can trigger the activation of a dedicated network slice based on real-time requirements. By utilising standardised application programming interfaces, developers can now request lower latency or higher bandwidth for specific tasks without requiring manual intervention from the end user. Telefónica has positioned this achievement as a critical step toward monetising 5G investments by offering differentiated service levels for diverse use cases.

Industry experts suggest that without such a standard, the widespread adoption of network slicing would remain limited to managed enterprise devices. The new GSMA framework enables a more dynamic environment where third-party apps, such as mobile gaming or remote healthcare tools, can seamlessly benefit from prioritised traffic. This mechanism allows the underlying infrastructure to recognise the specific needs of a service and allocate resources accordingly across the radio access network and core.

Telefónica conducted various trials involving high-definition video streaming and cloud gaming to demonstrate the efficiency of the application-aware mechanism. During these tests, the operator successfully showed how a slice could be provisioned on-demand when a user initiated a high-bandwidth session. The results indicated a significant improvement in quality of experience, particularly in congested areas where standard mobile broadband might suffer from performance degradation.

The implementation of this standard is likely to encourage closer collaboration between mobile network operators and the broader application development ecosystem. By providing a consistent set of rules for slice request and management, the GSMA aims to reduce fragmentation across different international markets. This uniformity is essential for global application providers who require predictable network behaviour regardless of the specific territory or carrier in use.

Telefónica plans to integrate these capabilities into its commercial 5G Standalone deployments as the technology matures further. The operator intends to work with device manufacturers to ensure that internal modem software supports the new signalling requirements defined in the GSMA documentation. As the industry moves toward more sophisticated service offerings, the successful rollout of app-aware slicing is anticipated to be a major driver for the next phase of 5G infrastructure evolution across Europe and Latin America.