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Tag: Ericsson

  • Telstra sets speed record with metro network trial

    Telstra sets speed record with metro network trial

    Australia’s Telstra, Ericsson and Ciena say they have achieved the world’s fastest speeds during a demonstration using Telstra’s transmission network in Melbourne.

    The companies achieved 400Gbps speeds over 61.5-GHz spectrum using Telstra’s transmission network, representing the highest spectral efficiency per fiber pair achieved in a live environment.

    This represents transmission speeds of up to 30.4Tbps per fiber pair, a significant improvement from the previous record of 25.6Tbps.

    Such speeds were made possible using software programmable wavelengths controlled by Ciena’s WaveLogic Ai modem technology and Blue Planet manage control plan and Liquid Spectrum applications.

    Telstra plans to introduce the technology as part of an upgrade to its long haul, metro and regional optical networks. Ericsson is providing end-to-end systems integration for the project and managed the deployment of technology for the demonstration.

    Telstra has already deployed Ciena’s industry-first programmable coherent modem, which offers up to three times the data capacity of the earlier modem technology deployed on the Telstra network.

    “Over the next five years we forecast traffic on our network will grow by five times. We are investing in our network and developing these innovations to meet this growing demand by providing unprecedented levels of scale, automation and intelligence,” Telstra director of IP and transport engineering David Robertson said.

    “This technology will be deployed in our domestic transmission network and we will look for opportunities to use it in Telstra’s international subsea cable network, which is the largest in the Asia-Pacific region.”

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  • Ericsson unveils 5G small cell solution

    Ericsson unveils 5G small cell solution

    Ericsson has unveiled a new small cell solution designed to meet the indoor mobile broadband performance requirements that will be demanded by 5G.

    The new 5G Radio Dot small cell radio will support the new 5G mid-bands between 3-GHz and 6-GHz, delivering speeds of up to 2Gbps.

    The new solution is also deigned to support emerging 5G industrial applications such as connected factories, connected hospitals and connected mining operations.

    Operators will be able to deploy 5G Radio Dot next to 4G solutions using the same cabling infrastructure, architecture and locations as existing 4G Radio Dot deployments. Radio Dot systems are used in many large buildings including office blocks, shopping malls, hospitals and airports.

    “Now that first 5G standards are here, vendors are going to need multiple radio solutions to help operators roll out their new 5G networks. Ericsson takes an important initial step in this direction by adding indoor small cell 5G solutions to its already existing outdoor 5G RAN portfolio,” Ovum practice leader Daryl Schoolar commented.

    “This new indoor solution from Ericsson is going to be attractive for operators wanting to offer enterprises good indoor performance for enhanced mobile broadband and new industrial applications that can’t be met by Wi-Fi or 5G base stations deployed outdoors.”

    Ericsson head of network infrastructure Nishant Batra commented that adding small cell solutions to its 5G portfolio is a natural part of the evolution to 5G.

    “Enterprises have been asking for first-rate connectivity indoors, as well as higher speeds and capacity to serve advanced use cases that cannot be addressed by traditional indoor systems. Our 5G portfolio, bolstered by small cells, will enable operators to meet these demands,” he said.

    The 5G Radio Dot will undergo trials in late 2018 and will be commercially available in 2019.

  • Ericsson wins contract extension with NBN

    Ericsson wins contract extension with NBN

    Ericsson has announced an extension of its managed services agreement with NBN Co, the company rolling out Australia’ national broadband network, through to 2020.

    Under the renewed agreement, Ericsson will continue to be responsible for providing network operations for the fixed wireless component of the NBN as well as ground systems operations for the network’s two dedicated communications satellites.

    The agreement also covers customer connections and assurance for both technologies, which are being used to provide connectivity in regional and remote areas where it has been deemed not cost effective to deploy fixed line technology.

    The fixed wireless and satellite services currently cover more than 980,000 premises in these areas with more than 290,000 premises connected to date.

    NBN Co provides wholesale access to the national broadband network to its retail service provider customers.

    Ericsson has been NBN Co’s managed services provider since 2011, when it was appointed to build and operate a TD-LTE based fixed-wireless broadband network. This agreement was extended in 2014 to include operations of the NBN’s long-term satellite solution.

    “As we extend our strategic partnership with NBN Co, we look forward to continuing the delivery of fixed wireless and satellite services to regional and rural Australia,” Ericsson Australia and New Zealand managing director Emilio Romeo said.

    “The availability of ubiquitous broadband to homes and businesses across Australia will help to bridge the digital divide and support economic and community growth.”

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  • Ericsson picks new chair to guide recovery efforts

    Ericsson picks new chair to guide recovery efforts

    Ericsson has nominated former mining equipment provider Atlas Copco CEO Ronnie Leten as its new chairman to assist with the struggling vendor’s recovery efforts.

    Leten will stand for election at a shareholder vote on March 28 as Ericsson’s pick for the successor to Leif Johansson, who announced in July that he won’t make himself available for re-election.

    As well as his role as president and CEO of Atlas Copco, Leten is currently a board member of bearing and seal manufacturer SKF, chairman of home appliance maker Electrolux and proposed chairman of planned Atlas Copco division Epiroc.

    Despite his lack of telecoms industry experience, the chairman of Ericsson’s nominating committee Johan Forssell said the committee believes Leten is the right pick for the job.

    “Ronnie Leten has a very strong track record when it comes to value creation,” Forssell said. Under his tenure, Atlas Copco has seen its shares rise twice as high as the European industrial sector index.

    “Mr Leten is a very skilled businessman, technically savvy and strategically versatile. Furthermore, he has significant experience from digitalization of major operations, which will be beneficial for Ericsson’s focused work together with its customers.”

    The committee has also proposed that Kurt Jofs, the leader of Ericsson’s networks business between 2003 and 2008, rejoin the company as a new board member.

    “With Mr Jofs’ deep knowledge of and background from the telecom and IT-industry, not least from his previous tenure at Ericsson, we believe that he will contribute complementary skills and experience to Ericsson’s Board. With these changes, the Nomination Committee believes that the company is given the right conditions for realizing its long-term potential,” Forssell said.

  • Ericsson opens 5G chip design center in US

    Ericsson opens 5G chip design center in US

    Ericsson has opened a new design center in the US focused on microelectronics and accelerating the path to 5G commercialization.

    The ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) design center in Austin, Texas will work with core microelectronics bound for 5G radio base stations.

    It will work closely with major Silicon processor manufacturers in the area to develop dedicated 5G ASICs.

    ASICs are specifically designed for the computation needs of mobile infrastructure, and make up the core of all Ericsson Radio System products. Ericsson said such processors are a hundred times faster, more cost-efficient and less power hungry than general-purpose processors in PCs.

    “We are strengthening our radio design capability in one of the world’s 5G pioneer markets. We’ll be up and running with our first group of designers in Austin by the end of 2017,” Ericsson head of networks development Sinisa Krajnovic said.

    “Along with our ASIC design teams in Sweden and China, we’ll be making faster, better and greener 5G products to bring into the Ericsson portfolio by 2019.”

  • Ericsson, Intel complete 5G interop test in China

    Ericsson, Intel complete 5G interop test in China

    Ericsson and Intel have jointly completed a multi-vendor end-to-end 5G interoperability test using 3.5-GHz bandwidth as part of China’s pre-5G trials.

    The trial in Beijing involved Ericsson’s 5G 3.5-GHz radio prototype testbed and Intel’s 5G client test platform.

    Ericsson’s 5G 3.5-GHz radio prototype uses 5G candidate technologies including massive and multi-user MIMO (multiple input multiple output), as well as beamforming technologies allowing beam tracking to accurately track the location and movement of client devices in real time.

    Intel’s mobile trial platform is meanwhile powered by the latest Intel field-programmable gate arrays and Intel Core processors.

    The trial marked the completion of the first over-the-air interface interoperability verification as part of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s 5G trials.

    Major vendors are meanwhile involved in China’s IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group’s pre-5G trials, with Huawei recently reporting it achieved a peak cell throughput of 20Gbps over 4.9-GHz C-Band spectrum. Operators including China Mobile are meanwhile planning to launch large-scale pre-commercial 5G trials in 2019.

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  • Ericsson launches wearable voice call solution

    Ericsson launches wearable voice call solution

    Ericsson has released a new VoLTE-based core network functionality to allow operators to offer single-number services for multiple wearable SIM-based devices.

    The new solution will allow operators to provide voice services for wearables using the same mobile number as a customer’s smartphone.

    It is designed for the new breed of wearable devices with cellular connectivity that are able to make and receive calls without being tethered to a nearby smartphone.

    The functionality can be added as an upgrade to Ericsson-supplied VoLTE networks with IMS deployed.

    Ericsson said the solution has been verified and pre-integrated with market leading devices, and will be adapted for more device types and brands as they are released. The company is already deploying the technology in more than 10 operator networks.

    “We continue building new useful services for our installed base of VoLTE networks, to enable our customers to launch innovative consumer and enterprise communication services,” Ericsson head of product management for communications services Monica Zethzon said.
    “With the new Multi-SIM for voice calls functionality, we support operators launching new attractive devices, which can also make high-quality operator voice calls anywhere, using the subscriber’s mobile phone number.”

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  • SK Telecom launches in-car virtual assistant

    SK Telecom launches in-car virtual assistant

    SK Telecom has announced the launch of a new in-car virtual assistant combining its T Map mobile navigation app with its NUGU artificial intelligence platform.

    The T Map x NUGU AI-based navigation service enables drivers to use their voice to activate existing navigation and new AI-based services.

    The platform is designed to allow drivers to easily set and change destinations without taking their eyes off the road of their hands off the year. Users can also ask the voice assistant to complete tasks such as finding the closest or cheapest gas station or the nearest parking lot.

    Users will also be able to request real-time traffic information and to end the service or close the app using voice commands. The virtual assistant then listens for one of two wake words.

    By November, SK Telecom also plans to add more functionality including using voice commands to take a call or send a busy message.

    T Map is the main mobile navigation service in Korea with an estimated 10.1 million active users – a 68% market share. It is available to SK Telecom mobile customers free of charge.

    Separately, Ericsson has entered a partnership with Zenuity, an automotive software development joint venture between Autoliv and Volvo Car Corporation, to develop an end-to-end platform for self-driving cars.

    The platform will cover connected safety, advanced driver assistance support and autonomous driving software and functions, Ericsson said.

    During the first phase of the collaboration, the companies plan to jointly develop the Zenuity Connected Cloud using the Ericsson IoT Accelerator.

    This offering will consist of in-vehicle software integrated with vehicle functions, onboard sensors and cloud support functions that will provide external data from other vehicles and cloud infrastructure.

    “Zenuity was formed to develop the software and solutions the industry requires to create a truly global connected automotive ecosystem,” Zenuity CEO Dennis Nobelius said.

    “With a strong focus on increasing safety through ADAS and AS software and functions, our unique expertise in ADAS and autonomous technologies combined with Ericsson’s technology leadership in complex connectivity solutions is a win-win for the entire automotive industry.”

  • Ericsson suing Wiko over patent infringement

    Ericsson suing Wiko over patent infringement

    Ericsson is suing French smartphone maker Wiko in Germany, accusing the company of infringing Ericsson patents essential to 2G, 3G and 4G cellular technology.

    In a statement, Ericsson said Wiko has been infringing on its intellectual property rights without any license or compensation for years.

    Ericsson chief intellectual property officer Gustav Bismark said the company has tried to negotiate a license agreement with Wiko on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms since May 2013, but has not succeeded throughout the years of discussions. The company decided to take Wiko to court as a last resort, he said.

    “Global sharing of technology and open standards are the force behind the smartphone revolution and have allowed new entrants, such as Wiko, to quickly build successful businesses,” Bismark said.

    “This ICT ecosystem only works, however, if all market players respect the basic rules of FRAND licensing. It is unfair for Wiko to benefit from our substantial R&D investment without paying a reasonable license fee for our patented technology.”

    Ericsson has one of the telecommunications industry’s largest IP portfolios, spanning more than 42,000 patents worldwide. These cover 2G, 3G and LTE technologies and technologies that are likely to incorporate part of the 5G standard.

  • Ericsson swings to $120.4m Q2 loss

    Ericsson swings to $120.4m Q2 loss

    Ericsson has revealed plans to accelerate its turnaround strategy after swinging to a 1 billion kronor ($120.4 million) loss in the second quarter.

    Net sales for the quarter fell 8% to 49.9 billion kronor, or 13% adjusted for constant currency. Ericsson also reported a 1.2 billion operating loss, of a slim 300 million kronor profit excluding restructuring charges.

    Ericsson’s operating margin fell to 10%, with networks operating margin reaching 7%, due to the rough economic environment for the telecoms sector. Ericsson warns it expects a high single digit percentage decline in the RAN equipment market for the full year.

    “We are not satisfied with our underlying performance with continued declining sales and increasing losses in the quarter. Execution of our focused business strategy is gaining traction. However, in light of current market conditions, we are accelerating the planned actions to reduce costs,” Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm said.

    “The decline in the networks result in the quarter was mainly caused by lower software sales, driven by two key factors; unusually strong software sales in the second quarter last year and cautious mobile broadband investment levels.”

    He said the vendor will continue to explore performance improvements in the segment by pursuing cost reductions and continuing the ramp-up of its Ericsson Radio System product. The company has also started to increase R&D investments in networks to safeguard its market position in the future.

    Ericsson is considered a bellwether for the telecoms sector, so the results serve as something of an indication for the health of the equipment market.

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  • Chunghwa taps Ericsson for trial NB-IoT system

    Chunghwa taps Ericsson for trial NB-IoT system

    Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom has contracted Ericsson to deliver a trial narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) system, and plans to use the system to test a range of IoT devices and applications at its laboratory.

    Ericsson will provide an end-to-end NB-IoT solution comprising a radio system, massive IoT RAN software, virtual EPC, virtual subscriber data management and an IoT smart device and application service.

    The two companies have also agreed to continue to work together to identify 5G use cases and applications for the digital transformation of industry verticals such as transportation and utilities. Ericsson and Chunghwa Telecom signed a 5G collaboration memorandum of understanding at Mobile World Congress 2017 in February.

    NB-IoT, a 3GPP standards-based low power wide area (LPWA) technology promises significant improvements in areas including indoor penetration, power consumption and system capacity that will be needed to support future IoT applications.

    “Ericsson has long been our leading network provider and has demonstrated the strong device life-cycle management and integration capabilities that are required for a system of this type,” Chugnhwa Telecom EVP and president of Telecommunication Laboratories Chen Shyang-Yih said.

    “NB-IoT technology is one of our primary focuses in 2017, and we are keen to explore more opportunities based on the new technology.”

    Chunghwa also recently announced plans to introduce four-carrier aggregation (CA) this month using the 1,800-MHz spectrum refarmed following the nation’s 2G switch-off.

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  • VNPT upgrades charging and BSS with Ericsson

    VNPT upgrades charging and BSS with Ericsson

    Vietnamese telecoms operator VNPT has contracted Ericsson to upgrade its charging and business support system.

    Under the deal, Ericsson will provide a new online charging system to support VNPT’s 40 million prepaid and postpaid subscribers. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

    The Ericsson Charging System is replacing VNPT’s legacy infrastructure, and the contract also includes a backend IT peripheral system, which will simplify integration of existing IT applications. The backend system will take full advantage of the new charging features and provides a flexible platform for VNPT to deploy new and innovative services, Ericsson said in a statement.

    The new online system will be put in service by VNPT during the fourth quarter, allowing VNPT to launch 4G services on this new platform. It also marks an important step in the company’s digital transformation, the Sweden vendor added.

    “Ericsson’s modernization of our charging system gives us the agility needed to meet the changing needs of our subscribers who expect greater control, personalization and flexibility,” said Nguyen Nam Long, general manager at VNPT Network. “It also helps us prepare for the introduction of 4G and makes it easier to further develop our service offering.”

    With the new system in service, VNPT’s subscribers will be able to request and update account information in real-time and automatically get notifications on costs, balances, and bonuses. The system will also give VNPT a better understanding of subscriber behavior and make it possible to rapidly create personalized offers, for example charging individual subscribers for bandwidth or specific services.

    Denis Brunetti, head of Ericsson Vietnam and Myanmar, said the Ericsson Charging System will help VNPT reduce the overall service management and service delivery costs. It will also enable VNPT to increase subscriber satisfaction and to capitalize on new business opportunities.

    The Ericsson Charging System has been deployed by over 200 customers supporting around 2.1 billion subscribers worldwide, Brunetti noted.

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  • Ericsson chairman to step down

    Ericsson chairman to step down

    Ericsson chairman Leif Johansson (pictured) will step down from his position as the struggling Swedish telecoms equipment vendor enters a new phase.

    Johansson, who has been serving as chairman of the company since 2011, has informed the company that he will not make himself available for re-election at the shareholder’s AGM in 2018, according to a company statement released on July 5.

    Ericsson, facing increasing competition from Huawei and Nokia, has been struggling to return to profitability.

    Johansson didn’t explain explicitly why he had chosen to step down, saying only the company has a new strategy and there had been changes in ownership

    But according to FT, the move was prompted by corporate activist investor Cevian Capital, led by Christer Gardell, which recently acquired 5.6% stake in Ericsson and has been pushing for further change.

    Commenting on his decision, Johansson said, “Börje Ekholm assumed the position as CEO in the beginning of the year and during the first quarter the company presented a new, more focused, business strategy. This strategy, which is supported by the board and the major owners, creates a solid foundation for realizing Ericsson’s full potential”.

    “The company now enters a new phase, with focus on execution, and we also have a new ownership constellation. It is natural to let the owners jointly propose a chairman and well ahead of this I want to announce that I will not be available for a next term,” he added.

    The company said its nomination committee has initiated a search for a replacement.

    Nokia appoints Gregory Lee to head technology arm

    Nokia has appointed Gregory Lee (pictured) as president of Nokia Technologies and a member of the company’s Group Leadership team, with immediate effect.

    Lee joins Nokia after a 13-year career at Samsung Electronics, where he most recently served as president and CEO of Samsung Electronics North America. In this capacity, Lee led all of Samsung’s businesses for North America, managing a portfolio of products including mobile phones and consumer electronics, as well as those in new market segments such as digital health, virtual reality devices and digital content.

    Rajeev Suri, president and chief executive officer of Nokia, said the company has chosen “the right leader to take Nokia Technologies forward at a time of renewed excitement about the Nokia brand around the world.”

    “Gregory’s passion for innovation and operational excellence, along with his proven ability to build and lead global consumer technology businesses, make him well suited to advance Nokia’s efforts in virtual reality, digital health and beyond.”

    Lee will be based in California, reporting to Suri.

    Wendy Johnstone joins Microsoft APAC team
    Microsoft has appointed Wendy Johnstone as marketing and operations lead for Asia Pacific, effective from July 3. Based in Singapore, Johnstone is in charge of all marketing activities and operations for Microsoft in the region.

    Johnstone joins Microsoft from Salesforce, where she was most recently vice president of marketing for Asia Pacific.

    She brings to the table over 20 years of experience and had held numerous senior marketing leadership positions at Salesforce, EMC and IBM.

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  • Unicom, Ericsson, Qualcomm demo VoLTE over Cat-M1

    Unicom, Ericsson, Qualcomm demo VoLTE over Cat-M1

    China Unicom, Ericsson and Qualcomm have completed the first demonstration of LTE Cat-M1 Voice over LTE use cases.

    The demonstrations at last week’s Mobile World Congress Shanghai involved providing connectivity for a fire alarm trigger panel and a GPS emergency tracking device.

    The demos were conducted using Unicom’s spectrum, Ericsson’s IoT and VoLTE capable network infrastructure and IoT devices equipped with Qualcomm multimode IoT modems.

    Adding VoLTE support to Cat-M1 allows IoT devices based on the cellular IoT technology to make voice calls as well as sending data.

    The demonstrated showed that emergency communications devices can be designed or retrofitted to  support wireless connectivity, supporting voice communication between the devices and emergency centers.

    In the case of the fire alarm trigger panels, people triggering an alarm were able to describe the situation to first responders and get immediate guidance.

    The GPS emergency tracking device demonstration meanwhile showcased the ability of such devices to send GPS location data while enabling VoLTE calls for coordinated emergency response.

    “China Unicom aims to drive the development of the IoT and accelerate cellular network development and large-scale business implementation by constructing the leading 4G FDD network,” Unicom executive director and senior vice president Guanglu Shao said.

    “We launched NB-IoT on a pre-commercial basis on May 12 in Shanghai. This cooperation on eMTC with Ericsson and Qualcomm is a new venture intended to boost social intelligence and the Internet of Everything through wide cooperation and the construction of leading networks.”

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  • Ericsson-led 5GCAR project to get EU funding

    Ericsson-led 5GCAR project to get EU funding

    A consortium of companies led by Ericsson known as the 5GCAR project will secure European Union funding as part of phase 2 of the 5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership (5G PPP).

    The consortium, which also includes Huawei, Nokia and French operator Orange, will work to develop a 5G system architecture to provide optimized end-to-end vehicle-to-everything network connectivity.

    The 5GCAR Project will run for two years and have a budget of around €8 million ($9 million). It will employ around 30 full-time researchers.

    The EU has allocated a total budget of €154 million for phase 2 of the 5G PPP.

    According to Ericsson’s France head Franck Bouetard, the EU funding “will allow our initiative to further develop in order to meet the market needs by 2020. Having such projects in Europe is key in this worldwide race, as it will secure additional business and employment in the continent in the future.”

    The remaining members of the 14-partner consortium are Bosch, Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya, Centro Tecnológico de Automoción de Galicia, Chalmers University of Technology, King’s College London, Marben, PSA group, Sequans, Viscoda and Volvo Cars.

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