EP3780758

Apparatuses, methods, and systems are disclosed for supporting network slicing. One apparatus (200) includes a processor (202) that receives (802) a data packet to be transmitted via a mobile communication network, identifies (804) an application category (421) associated with the data packet, and requests (806) a network connection corresponding to the identified application category (421). Requesting (806) a network connection corresponding to the identified application category (421) may include transmitting a connection setup message (428) indicating the identified application category (421). Identifying (804) the application category associated with the data packet comprises applying a category selection policy (504) to the data packet, the category selection policy (504) comprising one or more rules for selecting an application category (421) based on data packet characteristics. In various embodiments, the apparatus (200) includes a transceiver (210) that communicates with the mobile communication network supporting a plurality of application categories.