The two companies will collaborate on end-to- end
network slicing for critical communications
Mobile operator Swisscom announced plans to deploy a commercial 5G network by the
end of this year in partnership with Ericsson, which will provide the necessary hardware and
software.
The European telco said it will trial what it claims to be Switzerland’s first 5G mast in Ittigen by
mid-March 2018. However, development of an extensive 5G network is dependent on certain
amendment of regulatory parameters in Switzerland, the operator said.
Swisscom highlighted that the efficient use and development of extensive 5G networks hinges on
the amendment of the Ordinance on Protection from Non-ionizing Radiation (ONIR) and a change
in measurement procedures. Given an amendment of the regulatory parameters, extensive
coverage can be expected in 2020, the telco said.
“Swisscom plans to introduce 5G at selected sites this year,” said Heinz Herren, CIO and CTO. “Swisscom has set a few 5G test milestones in recent years, which is why we will be able to equip our mobile network with 5G as early as this year.”
Earlier this week, the two companies said they were collaborating on end-to-end network slicing for
critical communications in a joint project to deploy and explore new use cases for 4G and 5G
technologies. The project is based on Ericsson radio access and core networks, and one of the first
steps is to test how the functionality can support critical communications over public networks, for
example, in the public transport sector.
At Mobile World Congress 2018, which will take place in Barcelona next week, the two companies
will demonstrate how end-to- end network slicing can be implemented on Ericsson’s 4G and 5G
network solutions. The demonstration will use commercially available features in the Ericsson radio
access network, such as RAN slicing and Quality of Service control, combined with Ericsson’s core
network functionality and operations support systems offering.
“With Ericsson’s network slicing functionality and complementing features, we can leverage existing
infrastructure and assets. In addition to offering mobile broadband services, we will be able to
configure dedicated network slices for various industries, meeting the needs of manufacturing,
railway, and public safety companies,” Herren said.
In November last year, Swisscom selected the Swedish vendor for the implementation of a
complete digital transformation process as well as future deployments of gigabit LTE and 5G
The telco said that the deployment of gigabit LTE and 5G networks will enable the firm to accelerate
the development of innovative enterprise use cases built on massive machine type communication
(MTC) and critical MTC in fields such as factory automation, smart grids, intelligent mobility and
digital health.
In June 2017, Swisscom and Ericsson demonstrated applications based on 5G network slicing
and NB-IoT.
Swisscom said it will implement Ericsson’s Radio Access solutions, including small cells, and core
solutions that include full stack Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVI), virtualized
Evolved Packet Core and virtualized IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). The agreement signed in
November 2017 also includes network optimization services, planning, design, and system
integration.
