In a 5G network, a slice controller operating in a radio access network (RAN) is arranged to make predictions of channel state information (CSI) for user equipment (UE) on the network using a predictive propagation model. The slice controller uses the predicted CSI to schedule subcarriers and time slots associated with physical radio resources for data transmission on slices of the 5G network between a 5G radio unit (RU) and the UE to maximize network throughput on a slice for the radio spectrum that is utilized for a given time period. In view of the CSI predictions, the slice controller controls operations of the MAC (Medium Access Control) layer functions based on PHY (physical) layer radio resource subsets to schedule the subcarrier and time slots for data transmissions on a slice over the 5G air interface from RU to UE.