A 5G Network Architecture uses virtualization and network slicing. The user equipment (UE) interacts with an underlay network that interacts with virtual network slices. The UE interacts with the underlay network (ULN) to establish a connection to a virtual network slice. Procedures are defined to assign a new slice instance to a UE (UE initiated and ULN initiated); to change a UE Profile (UE initiated and ULN Initiated); and to change a UE's assigned slice instance (ULN Initiated).