Norway’s Ice offers slice of 5G for military communications

In a further deployment of a key function that realises the true value of 5G in enterprise, cloud-native network infrastructure provider Mavenir has announced it’s delivering the full 5G core network for Ice, Norway’s third-largest mobile operator, to enable a dedicated network slicing service for the Norwegian Armed Forces, designed to deliver the specific service levels required by military communications.

In the deployment, Ice is utilising its 5G standalone (SA) network to provide a dedicated network slice, essentially an isolated network-within-a-network, with the Armed Forces having exclusive use and control over their slice nationwide. It will be able to establish secure end-to-end communications across the network.

The operator notes that supplying critical communications services with a need for increased security involves a significant technological change, and that 5G standalone, described as “pure 5G”, opens up more advanced services in mobile networks. “The way traditional voice works in today’s mobile market involves the signal being sent from where the user is – to a switchboard in Oslo and then back again,” said Torbjørn Nilsen, Ice’s primary contact for the Norwegian Armed Forces.

“When we now move from traditional mobile technology to an IP-based service delivery, we achieve a very low delay time because data processing is distributed across the country. This is crucial for time-critical functions.”

In addition to slice sharing of the mobile network, 5G standalone also makes it possible to offer customers their own private disk. A military network disk is now being offered to the Mime programme of Forsvarsmateriel – the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency, whose main task is to equip the Norwegian Armed Forces with modern comms equipment – for combat-related ICT that will see use in security-critical communications.

Customer-specific private comms also make it possible to prioritise different forms of communication in the network.

“Ice has shown a great ability and willingness to cooperate, which now enables us to further develop important solutions that will benefit the whole of society,” said Forsvarsmateriel systems architect Kennet Nomeland.

A number of the services Ice has worked on together with the Norwegian Armed Forces have also been tested for use in ambulances to ensure good communication during critical missions. Similar tests will also be carried out together with the fire and rescue service in Trondheim.

“This deployment of network slicing is realising the true value of 5G,” said Tore Kristoffersen, vice-president of service delivery platforms for Ice. “We now have myriad possible new business cases to present to our enterprise customers, which can be tailored to precise service-level agreements, ensuring the best and most cost-effective use of resources. We are also testing solutions for use in public safety services, highlighting the value of 5G and its network slicing capabilities for secure critical communications.”

In 2023, Ice selected Mavenir’s Cloud-Native IMS and Messaging/VAS in a strategic project expansion, having already chosen Mavenir’s Converged Packet Core service to power its 4G and 5G network. Mavenir’s 5G mobile core is designed ready for operators such as Ice to enable network slicing for providing disruptive services to B2B, B2C or public organisations.

“The flexibility of network slicing powered by 5G is a game-changer for mobile operators,” said Ashok Khuntia, president of core networks at Mavenir. “We are enabling 5G use cases in practice, proving that the long-promised monetisation of 5G is a reality. With security, reliability and low latency, 5G is a massive opportunity for the industry. We are delighted to be extending our strategic partnership with Ice by supporting this first deployment in Norway.”