Market Context — Why This Technology, Why Now

The accelerating deployment of 5G and edge computing is driving unprecedented demand for highly reliable, low-latency network services across industries. Regulatory bodies are increasingly scrutinizing network resilience, especially for critical infrastructure like smart grids and autonomous transport. Companies that can guarantee near-zero downtime and superior service continuity will gain a significant competitive edge, making proactive fault recovery solutions like this technology essential for market leadership and compliance.

Key Competitive Advantages
01

Ensures Service Continuity with Ultra-Fast Recovery: Proactively secures bypass resources for immediate switching, unlike conventional systems with high service interruption risk.

02

Optimizes Network Resource Utilization: Allocates resources only to active bypass routes, avoiding the need to provision for all backup configurations.

03

Provides Robust Fault Tolerance in Complex 5G Environments: Maintains service quality by adapting to diverse fault scenarios with virtual backup configurations mirroring physical network topology.

Market Opportunity
🌐 5G Telecom Carriers
$500M–$1.5B globally (AI est.)
Commercial deployment of 5G network slicing is accelerating, and advanced fault recovery is essential for ensuring diverse service quality.
Tier-1 global telecom operators Regional 5G service providers Network equipment vendors
🏢 Data Center/Cloud Operators
$200M–$500M globally (AI est.)
Service interruptions in virtual network environments directly lead to customer churn, so maintaining high reliability with this technology directly strengthens competitiveness.
Hyperscale cloud providers Enterprise data center operators Managed service providers
🏭 Smart Factory Solutions
$100M–$300M globally (AI est.)
With the increase in industrial IoT devices, fault tolerance of real-time control networks becomes essential for productivity improvement.
Industrial automation solution providers Manufacturing IT system integrators Private 5G network providers for industry
IP Defensibility — Why Competitors Can't Replicate This
What This Patent Covers

This patent provides robust protection for a system, method, and program designed for fault recovery in multiple network slicing environments. Its claims were established against four cited prior art documents, indicating a stable and defensible right that covers various aspects of the technology.

Competitive White Space

This patent focuses on rapid fault recovery within network slices. White space exists in advanced predictive analytics for fault prevention, dynamic resource scaling beyond recovery, and cross-slice security orchestration.

Economic Impact
~$1.0M/year estimated opportunity loss reduction per facility (est.)
estimated ROI · USD · AI analysis
ROI Calculation Logic

For companies with 5G network infrastructure, assuming an average opportunity loss of ~$350K (AI est.) per system failure and 3 failures per year, this technology's faster recovery and stable operation could reduce annual opportunity loss by ~$350K/failure × 3 failures = ~$1.0M (AI est.). This also helps prevent customer churn due to service interruptions.

Speed to Market
6× faster than in-house development
This technology features clearly defined logic and system architecture for fault recovery in network slicing environments, with established algorithms. The patent details specific system configurations and operational principles, enabling rapid integration into existing network management systems. As a research outcome from a national university, it possesses a strong theoretical foundation, significantly reducing development efforts for proof-of-concept and accelerating market entry.
Competitive Positioning

X: Service Continuity & Reliability
Y: Optimal Network Resource Efficiency

Business Models & Applications
📊 Network Monitoring & Operations Service
Licensees could leverage this technology to offer high-reliability, ultra-fast fault recovery as a SaaS or managed service for customers utilizing 5G network slicing.
🗼 5G Infrastructure Foundation Solution
This technology could be integrated into network equipment or software and sold as a solution to telecom operators and data centers, enhancing the fault tolerance of their infrastructure.
⚙️ Industrial IoT Platform
Licensees could provide a highly reliable network platform incorporating this technology for mission-critical industrial IoT environments, such as smart factories and autonomous systems.
Adjacent Application Opportunities
🚗 Autonomous Driving & MaaS
Ensuring Ultra-Reliability for Vehicular Communication
Applying this fault recovery technology to V2V/V2X communication in autonomous vehicles could ensure safety where even millisecond communication interruptions are unacceptable. Real-time path selection is expected to significantly reduce accident risks, supporting the growth of autonomous mobility services.
🏥 Remote Healthcare & Smart Healthcare
Stabilizing Medical Device Networks
In medical networks where delays or interruptions are critical, such as remote surgery or vital sign monitoring, this technology could dramatically improve communication stability. It ensures reliable data transmission during emergencies, contributing to patient safety and treatment quality in a market projected to reach ~$600B globally by 2027 (AI est.).
🛰️ Space & Satellite Communication
Redundancy for Satellite Constellations
This technology could be applied to low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, both for ground station links and inter-satellite communication, to rapidly establish bypass routes during temporary outages. This would build a robust redundancy system, preventing communication disruptions and enhancing the reliability of a rapidly expanding ~$20B global market (AI est.).
Integration Roadmap — Estimated 18-Month Deployment
Phase 1: Technology Evaluation & Requirements Definition
Duration: 3 months
Align the core logic of this technology with existing network infrastructure and define system design principles based on the licensee's specific requirements. Develop a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) plan.
Phase 2: Prototype Development & Validation
Duration: 6 months
Develop a prototype for backup network slice generation and fault recovery mechanisms based on defined requirements. Conduct performance validation in a testbed environment closely simulating real-world conditions.
Phase 3: Production Deployment & Optimization
Duration: 9 months
Implement the system into production based on prototype validation results and commence operation under actual traffic conditions. Ensure continuous monitoring and adjustments to optimize system performance and enhance capabilities.
Technical Feasibility
This technology is a software-based solution that generates virtual backup configurations and allocates resources based on physical network topology information. It can be integrated as a software module onto existing SDN (Software Defined Networking) and NFV (Network Functions Virtualization) infrastructures, enabling deployment without extensive hardware modifications. The patent claims cover the system, method, and program, indicating that feature additions via software updates and integration into existing network controllers are technically straightforward.
Success Scenario
Implementing this technology could reduce service recovery times in a licensee's 5G network from minutes to seconds or even milliseconds during a service outage. This is estimated to significantly mitigate customer dissatisfaction and opportunity loss from critical communication service interruptions. It is expected to dramatically enhance service continuity and quality, particularly in high-reliability use cases such as autonomous driving and remote healthcare.
Patent Record
APPLICATION NO.
特願2020-020773
REGISTRATION NO.
7432916
FILING DATE
2020/02/10
GRANT DATE
2024/02/08
EXPIRATION DATE
2040/02/10
PATENT HOLDER
国立大学法人福井大学
Examination History
2022年12月16日
出願審査請求書
2023年10月17日
拒絶理由通知書
2023年11月21日
意見書
2023年11月21日
手続補正書（自発・内容）
2024年01月29日
特許査定