5G-TRANSFORMER · Project

Custom 5G Network Slices for Automotive, Healthcare, and Media Companies in Minutes

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Imagine a highway where every driver gets their own private lane, perfectly sized for their vehicle — a motorcycle gets a narrow fast lane, a truck gets a wide steady one. That's what this project did for 5G networks. Instead of everyone sharing the same one-size-fits-all connection, it built a platform that carves out custom "slices" of the network for different industries — a super-reliable slice for remote surgery, a low-latency slice for self-driving cars, a high-bandwidth slice for live video. The whole setup can be done in minutes, not weeks.

By the numbers

consortium partners across the project

countries represented in consortium

industry partners in the consortium

57%

industry partner ratio in consortium

vertical industries targeted (automotive, healthcare, media)

total project deliverables produced

minutes

time to create a custom network slice (vs. days/weeks traditionally)

The business problem

What needed solving

Telecom operators today run rigid, one-size-fits-all networks that cannot efficiently serve the wildly different connectivity needs of industries like autonomous vehicles, remote surgery, and live broadcasting. Setting up dedicated network capacity for a specific industry client takes weeks of manual configuration and expensive custom engineering. Companies in automotive, healthcare, and media are stuck waiting — or paying premium prices for network performance guarantees that current infrastructure cannot reliably deliver.

The solution

What was built

The project built three core components: a Vertical Slicer (a one-stop-shop portal where industries request custom network slices), a Service Orchestrator (which coordinates computing and networking resources across multiple domains), and a Mobile Transport and Computing Platform (a unified layer integrating fronthaul and backhaul networks). These were demonstrated live at Mobile World Congress 2019 and EUCNC 2018, with 24 deliverables produced in total.

Audience

Who needs this

Mobile network operators looking to offer industry-specific 5G servicesTelecom equipment vendors building network slicing productsAutomotive companies developing connected and autonomous vehicle platformsHospital networks and telemedicine providers requiring guaranteed network qualityMedia and broadcasting companies needing high-bandwidth low-latency connectivity

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Telecommunications

enterprise

Target: Mobile network operators and telecom infrastructure providers

If you are a telecom operator struggling to serve wildly different industry customers on a single rigid network — this project developed a Mobile Transport and Computing Platform that creates customized network slices in minutes. With 21 partners across 7 countries and live demos at Mobile World Congress 2019, the platform was validated for real-world telecom environments. It lets you offer tailored 5G connectivity as a service to vertical industries without rebuilding your infrastructure.

Automotive

enterprise

Target: Connected vehicle and autonomous driving technology companies

If you are an automotive company building connected or autonomous vehicles that need ultra-reliable, low-latency network connectivity — this project built a one-stop-shop Vertical Slicer that provisions dedicated network slices tailored to automotive requirements. The system was demonstrated at major industry events including EUCNC 2018 and Mobile World Congress 2019 with 12 industry partners involved. It handles the complexity of federating edge and cloud resources so your vehicles get guaranteed network performance.

Healthcare

mid-size

Target: Digital health and telemedicine platform providers

If you are a healthcare technology provider needing guaranteed network quality for remote diagnostics or telesurgery — this project created a Service Orchestrator that federates computing and networking resources from edge to cloud. The consortium included 3 vertical industry use cases with healthcare as a primary target. The platform provisions dedicated network capacity in minutes rather than the weeks typical of manual network configuration.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement this 5G slicing platform?

The project's EU contribution data is not available in the dataset, so specific development costs cannot be stated. However, the platform builds on open SDN/NFV standards, which means it integrates with existing telecom infrastructure rather than requiring full replacement. With 12 industry partners in the consortium, commercialization pathways through existing vendor channels are likely.

Can this scale to production-level telecom networks?

The platform was demonstrated at Mobile World Congress 2019 and EUCNC 2018 — two of the largest telecom industry events globally. The architecture federates resources across multiple domains from edge to core and cloud, which is inherently designed for large-scale deployments. The consortium of 21 partners across 7 countries tested cross-domain and cross-border scenarios.

What is the IP situation and how can we license this technology?

The project was funded as a Research and Innovation Action (RIA) with 21 consortium partners. IP is typically shared among partners according to their contribution. Contact the coordinator at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid for licensing terms and technology transfer options.

How quickly can network slices be created?

Based on the project objective, the Vertical Slicer is designed to create transport slices in the order of minutes. This is a dramatic improvement over traditional network provisioning which can take days or weeks of manual configuration. The system acts as a one-stop-shop entry point for vertical industries.

Does this work with existing telecom equipment?

The platform is built on SDN (Software-Defined Networking) and NFV (Network Function Virtualization) standards, which are industry-standard approaches supported by major equipment vendors. It integrates fronthaul and backhaul networks into a unified transport layer. The 57% industry ratio in the consortium (12 out of 21 partners) suggests strong alignment with commercial equipment ecosystems.

What industries has this been validated for?

The project specifically targeted 3 vertical industries: automotive, healthcare, and media. Each vertical had dedicated use cases developed and demonstrated. The demos at Mobile World Congress 2019 and EUCNC 2018 showcased these vertical-specific implementations to industry audiences.

Is this compliant with telecom regulations?

The project aligns with the 5G PPP (5G Public-Private Partnership) research agenda under ICT-07-2017 and specifically addresses the TA11: Converged 5G FlexHaul Network objectives. Based on available project data, regulatory compliance for specific markets would need to be confirmed with the consortium partners.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a strong industry-oriented consortium with 21 partners from 7 countries (Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Taiwan, UK). The 57% industry ratio — 12 industry partners out of 21 — signals that the technology was developed with real commercial deployment in mind, not just academic research. The consortium includes 4 universities and 4 research organizations providing the scientific backbone, plus 3 SMEs bringing agility. The coordinator, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, is a leading Spanish university with deep telecom research expertise. The international spread including Taiwan and major European telecom markets suggests the solution was designed for global applicability.

UNIVERSIDAD CARLOS III DE MADRIDCoordinator · ES
B-COMparticipant · FR
NEXTWORKS SRLparticipant · IT
ORANGE SAparticipant · FR
INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE INCORPORATEDparticipant · TW
CENTRO RICERCHE FIAT SCPAparticipant · IT
INTERDIGITAL GERMANY GMBHthirdparty · DE
CENTRE TECNOLOGIC DE TELECOMUNICACIONS DE CATALUNYAparticipant · ES
INTERDIGITAL EUROPE LTDparticipant · UK
MIRANTIS POLAND SPOLKA Z OGRANICZONA ODPOWIEDZIALNOSCIAparticipant · PL
SCUOLA SUPERIORE DI STUDI UNIVERSITARI E DI PERFEZIONAMENTO S ANNAparticipant · IT
ATOS SPAIN SAparticipant · ES
NOKIA SOLUTIONS AND NETWORKS GMBH &CO KGparticipant · DE
TELEFONICA INVESTIGACION Y DESARROLLO SAparticipant · ES
AYUNTAMIENTO DE MADRIDparticipant · ES
ERICSSON TELECOMUNICAZIONI SPAparticipant · IT
NEC LABORATORIES EUROPE GMBHparticipant · DE
POLITECNICO DI TORINOparticipant · IT
EURECOM GIEparticipant · FR
NEC EUROPE LTDparticipant · UK
ATOS IT SOLUTIONS AND SERVICES IBERIA SLthirdparty · ES

How to reach the team

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain) — contact through CORDIS or university's telecom research department

Order a report on this consortium See UNIVERSIDAD CARLOS III DE MADRID profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

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