Enhanced mobile broadband use case will lead 5G deployments, CEO says
Ericsson President and CEO Börje Ekholm kicked-off Mobile World Congress 2018 by providing an update on the network infrastructure giant’s plans to deliver 5G equipment this year in an effort to help service providers support enhanced mobile broadband to improve customer experience and drive down costs.
“This week we will focus…not only on what and why, but how,” Eckholm said. “That is what our customers, the service providers, want to discuss.” He said carriers need three things to succeed: increasing levels of network efficiency to handle increases in data traffic while lower cost per pit transmitted, digitalization of operations to improve customer experience and lower costs; and creation of a new revenue streams.
Eckholm discussed how 5G and the internet of things are inextricably linked together, and that Ericsson views the manufacturing, utility and energy verticals as the sectors that can benefit most from tapping into a combination of the internet of things and 5G.
And, speaking to carriers, Eckholm said don’t wait to deploy 5G; begin investment and upgrading today. Looking back to early adopters of LTE, he said those customers are still maintaining a competitive advantage nearly a decade later.
Eckholm also discussed the importance of distributed compute infrastructure and network slicing in supporting future 5G applications.
