Dynamic 5G Network Slicing for First Responders

Our paper describes a novel architecture using dynamic 5G network slices to support prioritized First Responder communications. Today, prioritized users are identified through their special Access Class (AC) 14 designation in their handsets as the basis for the Wireless Priority Service (WPS). However, under extreme events this best efforts approach to network access may not be sufficient, potentially resulting in loss of life or property. The 5G network has provisions for allocating virtual slices of the access network, most often for media type quality of service, such as non-real time video versus low-latency control versus low-bandwidth, delay tolerant messaging. This paper describes an approach to using dynamic 5G network slicing using the number of active AC-14 devices in a region to trigger the resource characteristics of a network slice, irrespective of media type needed for a given session.