Research Report on Industry SLA Requirements for E2E 5G Network Slicing China Academy of Information and Communications Technology September,2020 Network slicing is one of the most promising and powerful 5G technologies, capable of addressing the diversifying service needs of Foreword enormous industries and fast tracking the digital transformation of society in general. H o w e v e r, u n d e r s t a n d i n g i n d u s t r y n e e d s i s key to unleashing the infinite potential of network slicing. This report analyzes industry requirements, with healthcare, manufacturing, and energy sectors as representatives; proposes an innovative model according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to classify connectivity requirements into deterministic services, security and trustworthiness, and self-management; and defines an SLA palette accordingly, helping industry players understand SLA levels and match them with services. We hope this report can inspire the establishment of evaluation systems and measurement standards for network connectivity, facilitating the digital upgrade of industries. CONTENTS 01 Why 5G Slicing SLA Needs to Be Standardized? ------------- 01 02 Understanding Connectivity SLA Requirements with Maslow's 03 SLA Palette for 5G Network Slicing ------------------------------ 05 04 Healthcare Slices and SLA Levels ------------------------------- 06 05 Manufacturing Slices and SLA Levels --------------------------- 09 06 Electric Power Slices and SLA Levels -------------------------- 11 07 5G Slice Palette Benefits: Industry Engagement and Hierarchy of Needs -------------------------------------------------- 03 Connectivity Evaluation -------------------------------------------- 14 Page 01 Why 5G Slicing SLA Needs to Be Standardized? 01 Why 5G Slicing SLA Needs to Be Standardized? O v e r t h e p a s t y e a r, 5 G n e t w o r k s l i c i n g h a s an appropriate set of network capabilities for made a significant impact in the telecom certain service scenarios. In order to achieve i n d u s t r y. O p e r a t o r s a n d e q u i p m e n t v e n d o r s this, we need to recognize and unravel the u n d e r s t a n d t h e t r e m e n d o u s b e n e f i t s o ff e r e d following issues: by network slicing, and are determined to take full advantage. Consequently, an array of white papers have been released, which expand on network slicing technologies and architectures and delve deep into its application benchmarks. These white papers serve as valuable references f or t he f ur t her d e v e l o p i n g o f n e tw o rk s l i ci ng; h o w e v e r, t h e t e c h n i c a l d e t a i l s c o n v e y e d a r e quite complex and difficult for industry customers to follow, and the industry-specific use cases provided do not lend themselves well to simple application in other fields by service suppliers and device vendors. As such, this paper centers on classifying industry SLA requirements at • Industry players do not have a common understanding of network slicing. While a batch of industry applications have been verified on SA networks, industry players suffer from a lack of knowledge regarding network slicing capabilities. As a result, they are unclear about how to pack such capabilities into a network slice suitable for their industry sectors and how to purchase a well-designed slice, let alone see the business opportunities and benefits that go along with network slicing. • Operators do not sufficiently involve industry partners when defining the SLA. different levels, aligning varied service demands A well-rounded SLA framework must be able to with specific technology implementation. support all professional applications in different Clear SLA requirements and levels are crucial to both network slicing service providers and consumers, so that both parties can jointly plan industry segments, and it cannot be defined by operators alone. Joint efforts with industry customers, especially leading enterprises in each domain, are indispensable to formulate Why 5G Slicing SLA Needs to Be Standardized? Page 02 a c o m p r e h e n s i v e , c l e a r, a n d a d a p t i v e S L A Three main benefits exist in this context: framework. First, by standardizing the SLA, operators will • Current slice classification and SLA levels are not ideal for efficient slice management. Network capabilities need to be orchestrated with fine-grained control for flexible combination, but