5G testbed will be established at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Ericsson, together with Telia and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, has announced an agreement to foster the development of 5G in Sweden.
Through the new 5G project, Telia and KTH will build an environment at KTH in which 5G networks can be tested and developed. Ericsson will join the initiative as a technology partner.
“The 5G environment we will establish at KTH Campus means great opportunities to test technology and applications,” said Mats Lundbäck, CTO, Telia Sweden. “Telia will contribute with technical, cutting-edge competence and solutions to ensure that Swedish academia and industry are in the driver’s seat and are able to take leadership in 5G use case development.”
“It’s really exciting with such a concrete initiative, where the development of new 5G solutions takes place in the physical KTH environment,” said Mikael Östling, deputy president, KTH. “This will give our researchers, teachers and students great opportunities to participate and develop an increased understanding of the demands of 5G and future generations telecom networks. I also think our joint agreement shows that Sweden is good at collaborating, which is something KTH prioritizes.”
Telia previously said that it will trial 5G use cases in Swedish capital Stockholm this year. In 2017, Telia, together with Ericsson and Intel deployed what was claimed to be the first public 5G live network use cases in Europe. The trial included a high-speed 5G connection to a commercial cruise ship, delivering internet connectivity to the ship and its passengers while in port; and an industrial use case featuring a construction excavator remotely controlled with a live 5G network. Both trials were initially carried out in the Estonian capital, Tallinn. Going forward, the trials will be extended to Swedish parent Telia Company’s mobile networks in Stockholm and Helsinki (Finland) next year.
Sweden’s Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) is planning to auction wireless spectrum licenses for 5G services in the 3.4 GHz-3.8 GHz band in 2019. The regulator intends to offer 300 megahertz of spectrum on a nationwide basis, while also reserving 100 megahertz for regional concessions.
The PTS also said that existing licensees in the 3.4 GHz-3.8 GHz band will not have to relinquish their frequencies and reapply for spectrum.
The Swedish regulator is also looking to award 5G mobile licenses in the 26.5 GHz-27.5 GHz band, though it is awaiting moves towards the international harmonization of this frequency band before proceeding with the auction.
