BT Group deployed 5G Standalone network slicing over EE's mobile network last month at Belfast's Christmas market.
During the two-week trial, BT noted that it was able to create a dedicated slice of EE's 5G network for Lavery’s Beer Tent to support its eight mobile payment terminals.
According to BT, this enabled faster card and mobile payments for customers and was the first time that a business has benefitted from access to a partitioned slice from EE’s public network and live 5G Standalone core.
A network slice allows telecom operators to create separate and isolated networks for different use cases, while the slice can be configured differently.
It's a virtual network that operates on top of a single physical network and has been touted as one of 5G SA's key use cases.
EE only launched its 5G SA network in September, becoming the third UK carrier to do so following earlier launches by Vodafone and Virgin Media O2.
The carrier launched the service in 15 cities, including Belfast.
"We have all visited a retailer and had the awkward ‘wait while we check’ to see if a payment has been completed correctly. Network slicing helps tackle this problem by enabling consistently fast and smooth connectivity, critically giving certainty to both traders and customers even when the network is busy in specific locations like Belfast Christmas Market," said Paul Murnaghan, BT’s Northern Ireland director.
Last year, Vodafone deployed network slicing at Glastonbury Festival to support card and mobile payments.