The need for 5G is now – Ericsson

Ericsson brought its flagship technology showcase event, Barcelona Unboxed event to Mumbai, India. Along with the best in telecom technology, Ericsson also shared findings of a research report that the Company has done. It indicates that consumers are waiting for 5G and one in three smartphone users in India will change either immediately or within six months to a service provider that switches on 5G. This underlines the need and wants for faster, more capable telecom networks that can address the rapidly growing data traffic in India.

Ericsson´s just launched 5G platform plays an instrumental role, as the most complete portfolio set out to deliver on the promises of 5G. With the Ericsson 5G platform, service providers can evolve their network from 4G to 5G in a smart and dynamic way and build performance with precision; maximize automation in operations and leverage AI to cope with complexity and monetize both evolving existing use cases as well as develop new ones, across Mobile Broadband, Fixed Wireless Access and IoT.5G networks are now live across many markets globally and Ericsson is leading the way with 18 publicly announced deals with customer names. Globally, Ericsson has already shipped 3 million 5G hardware ready radios till now.

In India too, Ericsson has won new deals in the year so far. These include the deployment of 5G ready LTE equipment with Vodafone Idea Limited, VoLTE expansion with Bharti Airtel and a partnership with Bharti Airtel to build real-world AI use cases for Network Operations. The Company also has 5G MoUs with Bharti Airtel, BSNL and IIT, Delhi as part of its efforts to strengthen the 5G ecosystem in the country.

Ericsson showcased a wide variety of innovative concepts, industry-leading product demonstrations as well as tools and technologies that will run and manage tomorrow’s 5G networks. The Company showcased an innovative concept, Radio Stripes – which offer high and robust radio performance and enables easy and flexible deployment of mobile networks. It is a visionary mobile network design that is super-distributed and has the potential to deliver better quality, as well as making for easier deployment. At a nearly invisible form factor, it enables truly ubiquitous high capacity radio everywhere. The Company also showcased a host of other demonstrations and use cases across 5G and IoT, including Ericsson Spectrum Sharing, Intelligent Managed Services and Communication on Smart Devices.  Ericsson ‘Made for India’ radio solutions including Massive MIMO and indoor solutions comprising of small cells and microcells were also showcased at the event.

More About Technology Showcase at Barcelona Unboxed

Ericsson Radio Stripes

It is a visionary concept where Ericsson has done a rethink of antennas and base stations.  This revolutionary new mobile network design is super-distributed.  It has the potential to deliver better quality, easier deployment at a nearly invisible form factor, enabling truly ubiquitous high capacity radio everywhere. In technical terms, this is a truly ubiquitous massive MIMO system. It will be an ideal deployment solution for challenging outdoor as well as indoor areas such as dense city squares, malls/offices, stadiums, train stations, factories and warehouses.   It is simply speaking, a base station that is distributed on a flexible tape – and can be deployed at “tailormade” size with a scissor.

Ericsson Operations Engine

The new operating model for Managed Services is called Ericsson Operations Engine. It refers to the end-to-end model for how Managed Services shall sell, deliver and operate its business. It supports all solution areas in Managed Services and includes mandatory policies and recommended guidelines end to end - from customer engagements, through contracts, how we build and deliver, operate, govern, optimize, measure, release and maintain the model itself.

Communicate on Smart Devices

The human need for real-time communication is more relevant than ever. This is true, both for how we communicate with each other, and how we communicate with businesses. Service providers could offer their mobile voice services, enabled via their VoLTE enabled network, to consumers on a palette of new devices such as smart watches, smart speakers, smart TVs, smart mirrors and much more. This proof point we will demonstrate how voice services for the multi-device experience improve the consumer experience.

Connectivity in Industry 4.0

IoT is happening now but to bring the best out of several independent initiatives, Ericsson is working towards collaborative IoT i.e. to provide connectivity to any device and developer tools to share the information across several ecosystem partners. This proof point provides a sneak peek of how software-defined devices allow one to introduce new business models, how simple, secure and scalable 4G/5G connectivity provides the foundation for Industry 4.0 by taking our visitor through a journey of different narratives. This proof point allows the visitor to not only get inspired but also help her start the industry transformation journey.

Ericsson Spectrum Sharing

Ericsson Spectrum Sharing is a key network function that will allow a smooth introduction of 5G on existing 4G frequencies in a service provider's network, securing the best possible use of their spectrum assets and installed base. With a simple software installation, operators will be able to activate 5G on their existing Ericsson Radio System infrastructure (radios and RAN Compute equipment), that we already started to deliver in 2015. This demo will show how simple it is to move from single mode to mixed mode configurations, while also covering Ericsson Spectrum Sharing.