Ericsson turns on 5G

Ericsson has finalised its 5G-readiness, allowing operators to start deploying 5G.

The company has enhanced its 5G Platform, launching a 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) commercial software, based on the recently approved first 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR) standard. It has also introduced a new category of radio products called Street Macro – a new site type that addresses the need of operators to grow in cities with limited available radio locations.

To capture growth opportunities presented by new 5G use cases, Ericsson has expanded its 5G Core System offering with new capabilities to support 5G NR and also enhanced its Distributed Cloud solution.

Ericsson introduced 5G Platform in February 2017 with additions made in September the same year. It comprises the 5G core, radio, and transport portfolios together with OSS/BSS, network services and security.

Fredrik Jejdling, executive vice president and head of business, area networks at Ericsson, said, “Operators who want to be early with 5G now have the essential pieces for launching 5G networks already this year. With our expanded platform, they will get more efficient networks as well as opportunities to create new revenues from emerging consumer and industrial use cases.”

Available in the fourth quarter of 2018, Ericsson’s 5G radio network software provides multi-band support, allowing operators to use new frequency spectrum as it becomes available.

The 5G radio network software announced today complements Ericsson’s already launched baseband and 5G radios. Operators can simply activate their 5G networks and take the first steps with commercial 5G capabilities and new applications leveraging advanced mobile broadband services.

Ericsson has also announced enhancements to its Distributed Cloud offering for cloud application deployment across multiple sites - central, distributed, and edge. Ericsson Distributed Cloud combines the telecom and cloud capabilities to enable networks as open cloud platforms for all workloads, including telecom, consumer, and enterprise applications.

As part of the Ericsson Distributed Cloud, Ericsson will support deployments of hardware options in a multi-vendor framework. With fast deployable telecom-grade open software for remote upgrade and operation, Ericsson brings Software Defined Infrastructure (SDI) to the edge. To support efficient deployment of cloud native applications, Ericsson also expands the offering with support for containers in a distributed cloud infrastructure.

Ericsson has also added a new category of radio products for cities, which it calls Street Macro – a new layer between macro and micro. These radios will be on building facades with a smaller footprint but the necessary strength to secure network efficiency and coverage.

Furthermore, the company has unveiled new radio products supporting Massive MIMO technology. These products enable a smooth evolution from 4G to 5G and address the need for increased capacity, while simplifying use for wider adoption.

All installed base radios from the Ericsson Radio System delivered since 2015 will be 5G NR-capable by a remote software installation.