The 5G R&D agreement will focus on radio and core technologies
Swedish vendor Ericsson signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese telecom operator KDDI to collaborate on “5G” research and development with an eye on potential uses and deployment strategies.
Under the agreement, the companies plan to develop a joint understanding of 5G use cases, requirements and deployment scenarios, as well as evaluate performance and applicability of potential 5G key technology components. Ericsson said the areas of interest for the companies include radio and core technologies.
“We are committed to providing high-quality network performance and user experience to address the needs and expectation of our customers. Through our joint efforts with Ericsson we will study 5G technologies and take an important step toward bringing 5G capabilities to the market,” said Yoshiaki Uchida, KDDI managing executive officer for the technology sector.
Chris Houghton, head of Ericsson’s North East Asia Region, said “This MoU is another important milestone in Ericsson’s partnership with KDDI and an opportunity for both companies to strengthen the technology foundation for the evolution toward 5G. The combination of Ericsson and KDDI’s technology leadership will generate valuable synergies that strengthen our research and development.”
Ericsson’s latest 5G test network initiatives cover the interactions between mobile devices and radio access networks in both indoor and outdoor scenarios, as well as the new capabilities and characteristics of core networks based on network functions virtualization and software-defined networking technologies.
LTE-A reaches 100 networks worldwide
LTE-Advanced technology has been deployed in 100 networks worldwide, according to a recent report by industry group 4G Americas.
The report shows LTE-A technology is already commercially available in 49 markets. The first LTE-A network was launched in South Korea in June 2013.
In the Asia-Pacific region, LTE-A networks are commercially available in Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, according to 4G Americas’ latest report.
