Draft Further Guidance on 5G Network Slicing
The principle of the open internet is embedded in the Open Internet Regulation (OIR), which has been applied in all Member States since 30 April 2016.
Pursuant to Art. 5(3) OIR, BEREC has provided guidance on its implementation, including on the rules to safeguard equal and non-discriminatory treatment of traffic in the provision of internet access services (IAS) and related end-users’ rights as laid down in Articles 3 and 4 OIR. The OI Guidelines also offered further clarifications relevant to 5G technologies. More specifically, they elaborated on the compatibility with the OIR of relevant mobile technologies, explaining, on the one hand, how internet access service providers can differentiate the Quality of Service (QoS) level of IASs and, on the other hand, detailing the conditions for providing specialised services under the OIR.
In addition, while acknowledging the dynamic nature of the internet and of IAS, BEREC has further noted that the OIR seems to leave considerable room for innovation and that no concrete evidence suggests that implementation of network slicing is being impeded by the OIR.
Since 2022, when the OI Guidelines were last updated to reflect several rulings of the European Court of Justice on ‘zero tariff’ offers, there have been several relevant developments
Against this backdrop, this document sets out BEREC’s updated guidance on how the OIR applies to 5G network slicing. It complements the OI Guidelines in assisting providers to self-assess their services and practices, which do not require ex ante clearance by national regulatory authorities (NRAs) under the OIR. While this guidance specifically focuses on 5G standalone network slicing, the underlying principles of logical network partitioning and differentiated QoS treatment are not exclusive to 5G: QoS differentiation mechanisms exist in 4G networks and are available in fixed-access networks; future 6G architectures are likewise expected to further extend slicing concepts. Given the principle of technological neutrality underlying the OIR, the approach set out in the following chapters, while developed with reference to 5G slicing, is equally relevant for similar QoS differentiation mechanisms in other network technologies.
In case of any conflict between the main document of the BEREC Open Internet Guidelines and this annex, the main document shall take precedence.