New Zealand operator 2degrees has announced a partnership with Ericsson to launch a 5G network in the country, the telco said in a release.
The company said that the initial 5G sites will be located in the cities of Auckland and Wellington with plans to expand the network to other main urban areas, with a total of 700 sites.
2degrees also said that the partnership with Ericsson will allow the company to double its current 4G capacity.
“Ericsson is rapidly expanding its New Zealand presence and we look forward to bringing our customers the technology that is underpinning the world’s best 5G networks across five continents, including Australia’s leading mobile network,” said 2degree’s CEO Mark Aue.
“Our launch will be well-timed and what we’re building today will be far more advanced than what any telco could deliver a year ago. In the past 18 months there have been significant advances in the 5G ecosystem and our 5G build is poised to capitalise on that – ultimately 2degrees customers will benefit from mature and proven technology,” Aue added.
Emilio Romeo, Head of Ericsson Australia and New Zealand said that the vendor will provide 2degree with its 5G RAN and core solutions.
Aue said Ericsson was appointed following a multi-vendor selection process.
“We started replacing the core of our network in 2020 and now we can accelerate the build out of 5G with our planned upgrade of existing sites,” he said. “The move to 5G is a natural evolution for 2degrees and, like the move to 3G and then 4G, will be funded by the company’s established capital investment plan.”
2degrees currently provides mobile services to customers via a nationwide network of almost 1,800 sites that reaches 98.5% of the country.
Ericsson has 135 commercial 5G agreements with communications service providers globally, 77 of which have been publicly announced.
Some key customers include AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile US, US Cellular, Verizon, Bell Canada, Telus, Rogers, Swisscom, TDC, Telenor, Vodafone UK, Wind , Deutsche Telkom, O2 UK, Etisalat, Optus, Ooredoo, Orange France, Vodafone UK, STC, KT, SK Telecom and Telstra.
