A gamer plays a GeForce NOW game inside a pop-up converted phone box powered by 5G.
Photo: Anthony Devlin/Zuma PressNetwork carriers, looking to build new business around 5G, are exploring nascent technology that would allow them to better and more quickly deliver certain apps and services on their network—but this technology, known as network slicing, could potentially run afoul of net-neutrality regulations.
In the current model, all data traffic from phones is typically funneled through the same network.
Carriers are able to prioritize the voice calls that they handle on that network, but they rarely have visibility into what else users are doing through other apps.
In other words, someone using a videoconferencing telehealth app has no priority over someone scrolling social media or streaming video—despite the fact that faster delivery is much more critical for that service, said Chris Sambar , head of network at AT&T .
Persons:
Anthony Devlin, Chris Sambar
Organizations:
5G, Zuma Press Network, Carriers