For Ericsson, the Swedish Multinational Telecommunications company, this is the first MWC after its acquisition of enterprise cloud communications company Vonage. Vonage Communications Platform (VCP) enables use cases that advance digital transformation for better connections, conversations and engagements. Ericsson President and CEO, Borje Ekholm, has launched the company's Mobile World Congress 2023 activities in Barcelona. Let's now look at Ericsson's announcements from the Mobile World Congress.
1. Prepare MRANTI Park for 5G
The Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation (MRANTI), Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) and Ericsson have extended their MoU signed in 2022 at the MWC23. The renewed MoU will prioritise awareness and adoption of 5G among businesses in Malaysia to expedite the implementation of the 5G-enabled STIE agenda. The 5G Experience Center at MRANTI Park is expected to be launched in March.
Also Read: Orange Launches 5G SA Network in 4 Cities of Spain
2. Orange Launches First 5G SA in Spain
Orange has launched the first commercial 5G Standalone (SA) network in Spain, the first for the Orange Group, powered by Ericsson's dual-mode 5G Core. The network is said to go live in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla, with more cities to be added over the year. The connectivity in Madrid and Barcelona is also delivered through Ericsson RAN solutions.
3. Indonesia's Telkomsel partners with Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies
Telkomsel, the leading digital telecommunications company and the first 5G service provider in Indonesia, along with Ericsson and Qualcomm, have initiated a 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) trial with sub-6 spectrum and millimeter Wave (mmWave) extended range with Gigabit last mile connectivity through affordable 5G Sub-6 and mmWave devices. Telkomsel, Ericsson and Qualcomm are preparing for optimal 5G capacity with low latency features, using Ericsson's 5G NR-Dual Connectivity technology in the 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz frequency spectrum.
Also Read: Telstra Announces First 5G Data Call Using Ericsson Cloud RAN Technology
4. Extended Range Feature: Completion of 100 km long-range 5G data call
In a world-first achievement, Telstra and Ericsson announced the completion of a 100 km long-range 5G data call on a mid-band Time Division Duplex (TDD) Advanced Antenna System (AAS) radio in a live commercial network. The 100 km long-range 5G data call was conducted at Burra, South Australia. Telstra said it would selectively enable this long-range capability where it can provide a coverage benefit based on each mobile site's local requirements and environment.
The maximum speed throughput at 100 km was 89 Mbps. The 5G Standalone (SA) data test calls were conducted using Telstra's n78 (3600 MHz) spectrum and also established Carrier Aggregation (CA) between Band 5 (850MHz) and n78. The base station had Ericsson's AIR6488 TDD AAS radio and an Ericsson Baseband 6630 running on commercial software.
5. Compliance Leadership Changes
Ericsson announced that after almost four years as Ericsson's Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), Laurie Waddy, will be leaving the company. As interim CCO, Jan Sprafke will report to Scott Dresser, Group Chief Legal Officer and the Audit and Compliance Committee of the Board of Directors until a permanent replacement is identified.
6. Econet Wireless Zimbabwe partners with Ericsson for 5G Expansion
Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has bolstered its partnership with Ericsson as it prepares for 5G expansion by modernising its Radio Access Network (RAN) and mobile Core network across Harare, Zimbabwe. The network modernisation will include Econet's existing 2G, 3G and LTE networks with Ericsson's latest 5G multi-band, multi-sector radios - such as Radio 4466 – which offers capacity expansion, energy efficiency and an average of 15 per cent reduction in tower load.
Also Read: Du and SES Trial Satellite-Enabled 5G Mobile Backhaul
7. UAE's du partners with Ericsson for AI-based Digital Transformation
du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) and Ericsson, announced a strategic partnership for digital transformation through Artificial Intelligence (AI). This partnership will focus on introducing AI and automation use cases and digitally transforming the IT operations environment, which will help improve key metrics, making operations data-driven and intelligent.
8. 5G FWA: Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN) and Ericsson Extend Partnership
Following their ten-year recent partnership, in November 2022, Ericsson and nbn further strengthened their collaboration with an MoU to enable greater connectivity for all Australians. Under this agreement, nbn will become the first operator to deploy Ericsson's extended range mmWave functionality – offering current capability up to a range of 6.9 kilometres – within its Fixed Wireless commercial network.
As a second initiative, Ericsson said it is developing mid-band Massive MIMO features such as optimised multi-user MIMO pairing, specifically tailored to the Fixed Wireless network access scenarios of nbn.
Also Read: NBN Co Announces New Locations Eligible for Full Fibre Upgrade
9. Ericsson and Aeris Communications showcase combined IoT capabilities
In December 2022, Ericsson announced transfer of Ericsson's IoT Accelerator and Connected Vehicle Cloud businesses to Aeris, a prominent IoT solutions provider based in San Jose, California. At MWC, the combined team is showcasing new security capabilities that protect IoT programs from cybersecurity threats and other vulnerabilities.
10. Technology showcase demonstrating 5G Education Usecase
At MWC, the Sarawak exhibit highlights how 5G can facilitate digital transformation in all sectors while closing the digital gap. In addition, the exhibit serves as an excellent demonstration of 5G's practical value in a real-world education scenario, benefiting not only Malaysia but also the global community.
Also Read: Singtel Partners Ericsson for Mobile Network Energy Savings
The recent Sarawak showcase (February 18), which Ericsson and DNB organised, highlighted a successful lecture delivery by senior lecturer Dr Syafiqah Saidin from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in Kuala Lumpur to a group of students located approximately 1,400 km away in Miri's Curtin University. Despite Dr Syafiqah being physically present in the UTM-Ericsson IC5G (Innovation Centre for 5G), both the lecturer and students interacted with each other seamlessly using AR/VR headsets, experiencing a high-quality, real-time and interactive lecture in a custom-built virtual environment without any noticeable delays.
Also Read: Swisscom Opts for AWS to Focus on Cloud Native 5G, Digital Transformation
11. Swisscom and Ericsson to Explore the deployment of Ericsson 5G Core on AWS
Ericsson and Swisscom announced a collaboration to explore the possibility of deploying Ericsson 5G Core on AWS. With a shared journey with AWS, Swisscom and Ericsson are exploring how telecom operators can benefit from various use cases. The proof of concept (PoC) will examine use cases that leverage the unique features of hybrid and public cloud. Swisscom is leading the way in enabling cloud-native networks, delivering complete automation and scalability while allowing for faster innovation and making 5G impactful for customers.
