LG U+ taps Ericsson as RAN vendor for NSA 5G network
Ericsson has been selected by Korean communication service provider LG U+ as a 5G radio access network (RAN) vendor for its 3.5 GHz Non-Standalone (NSA) 5G network, the Swedish vendor said in a statement.
Ericsson also said it has already been selected by LG U+ as a preferred 5G core network vendor. In South Korea, Ericsson had also inked 5G agreements with rival operators SK Telecom and KT Corp.
Under the terms of the new contract Ericsson is deploying 3GPP standards-based 5G New Radio (NR) hardware and software from Ericsson Radio System.
Ericsson also said that the new 5G solutions are going commercially live as they are deployed in the LG U+ network.
Daehee Kim, Vice President, Network Strategy, LG U+, said: “Ericsson will help us to deliver the very best enhanced mobile broadband experiences for our subscribers, as well as opening up innovation and job creation opportunities through the Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0 and digitalized society.”
“We’re working in close partnership with LG U+ to strengthen its 5G network in Korea. We look forward to building the partnership to help LG U+ meet its 5G needs as its subscriber base grows across enhanced mobile broadband, IoT, and Industry 4.0,” said Hakan Cervell, Head of Ericsson Korea, Ericsson.
The country’s three telcos simultaneously switched on their commercial 5G networks in April 2019, to support some of the first commercially available 5G smartphones globally.
As of the end of September, there were over three million 5G subscribers in the Asian nation, according to data from Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT. The government said that the five million mark could be reached by the end of the year.
All mobile carriers in Korea are also exploring 5G opportunities in Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT) fields such as: smart manufacturing, including automation and artificial intelligence (AI), enterprise opportunities, smart cities, transportation, and public safety, Ericsson said.
Last week, Ericsson announced that it had been selected by Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel (Airtel) to deploy its 5G-ready Cloud Packet Core in Airtel’s Pan India core network.
The European vendor said that the deployment will consist of solutions like Ericsson virtual Evolved Packet Gateway (vEPG) that follow ETSI standards.
Ericsson has 70 commercial 5G agreements or contracts with unique communication service providers, of which 20 are live networks. Some key customers include AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile US, US Cellular, Verizon, Swisscom, TDC, Telenor, Vodafone UK, Wind, Etisalat, Optus, Ooredoo, STC and Telstra.
