Major telecom companies like Vodafone Germany, T-Mobile US, and Deutsche Telekom are launching distinct 5G network slicing services aimed at business customers.
Each of the launches reflect unique strategies and market contexts, from Vodafone’s standardised pricing for virtual private campus networks to T-Mobile’s all-in-one premium mobility plan and Deutsche Telekom’s focus on mission-critical services for emergency responders.
While these launches signify progress in 5G enterprise services, the concept of network slicing is still evolving, with offerings being marketed more as tailored connectivity solutions rather than fully programmable network tools.
The long-promised potential of 5G network slicing—dedicated, virtualised “lanes” in the mobile network—is finally being brought to market in structured offers for business customers. But what exactly is being offered? Vodafone Germany, T-Mobile US, and Deutsche Telekom have all announced distinct slicing propositions in recent weeks, each reflecting a different strategy and market context.
One of the promises of network slicing is that–in theory–it can be used to design an almost limitless number of unique offers based on the feature requirements of individual users and applications. We are still some ways away from dynamic programmability of bespoke network slices on the fly, but even at this early stage of commercialisation, each slicing service launch looks completely different from the others. That’s kind of the point, but it could also provoke some head scratching by enterprises trying to understand the concept.
Slice by slice
Vodafone Germany has taken perhaps the boldest step towards mainstreaming slicing by publishing standard pricing. Campus Flex Exclusive (€2,000/month per location) delivers a virtual private 5G campus network, offering guaranteed uplink and downlink speeds. Campus Flex Starter (€10-20 per user/month) is an entry-level, shared slice for light applications like payment terminals or push-to-talk.
Vodafone’s use of “Campus Network” branding and positioning is interesting, reflecting its investment in marketing earlier versions of hybrid private 4G and 5G networks leveraging its macro network. The new offers position slicing as a virtual private network alternative, faster and cheaper than deploying a full private network. What’s impressive is the fact that customers can order slices directly from the Vodafone business portal. On the other hand, Vodafone hasn’t detailed service level agreements beyond basic throughput. Transparency on latency, jitter, and other guarantees will be required prior to adoption by more demanding industrial users.
T-Mobile US, meanwhile, is packaging slicing into a broad business mobility plan called SuperMobile, which combines a “nationwide 5G Advanced slice with dynamic, real-time resource optimisation” and built-in security (encryption, device authentication, and Threat Protect VPN for smartphones). It also includes T-Satellite, the company’s new satellite-to-mobile service with coverage via more than 650 satellites.
This all-in-one proposition is pitched as a general-purpose premium business solution, not an industrial, mission-critical, or application-specific product. Delta Air Lines and Axis Energy Services are early adopters, showcasing both urban and remote-field use cases.
Unlike Vodafone, T-Mobile has not disclosed pricing, and it remains unclear whether customers can define or request custom quality of service (QoS) parameters per slice (the announcement refers only to data prioritisation and latency optimisation). That makes the offer more of a broad performance upgrade than a programmable network service.
Deutsche Telekom (DT), by contrast, is going deep into a vertical, announcing slicing-enabled mission-critical broadband services for police, fire, and rescue agencies. Partnering with Motorola Solutions, DT is deploying 3GPP-standard Mission-Critical Services (MCX) protocols, allowing push-to-talk, push-to-video, and prioritised data sharing across LTE, 5G, and traditional radios.
By reserving network capacity through slicing, DT provides emergency responders with a guaranteed “blue light lane” on the network, ensuring reliable communications during congestion. The solution has already been tested with German federal police and proven during the 2024 European Football Championship. Pricing is not disclosed, and the service appears restricted to the public sector. It’s not yet clear whether DT intends to extend MCX-style slicing to commercial industries with critical communications needs.
Is network slicing going mainstream?
These three very different commercial launches represent progress in 5G enterprise services, but are we seeing network slicing go mainstream?
Rather than seeing an enterprise “network slicing market” emerge, what is more likely to appear in the near-term are even more examples of market, vertical, or application-specific offerings that benefit in part from network slicing functionality, but which avoid the hype of telecom technology vendors in favour of communicating with business customers in their own language.
Slicing is moving beyond pilots, but its mainstream role remains in flux. Today, it is being marketed less as a programmable network tool and more (as seen in these recent launches) as a value-added connectivity layer, tailored either for specific industries (DT), standardised private network substitutes (Vodafone), or premium broad-market plans (T-Mobile).
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By GlobalDataThe key question for the next phase is: Will operators empower customers with true programmability and SLAs—or keep slicing as a behind-the-scenes enhancement bundled into premium plans?
