Telefónica Deutschland, Bell Canada select Ericsson as 5G network partner

Ericsson has announced new contracts with Bell Canada and Telefónica Deutschland to supply both 5G core and 5G radio access network (RAN) technology to support the operators’ mobile and fixed wireless access deployments across their respective territories.

With its 5G technology, Ericsson claims Telefónica Deutschland will have the most modern mobile core network in Germany and will be able to use the full potential of the 5G standard for private and business customers.

Operating under the O2 brand in Germany, Telefónica Deutschland will implement a completely independent 5G core network with full cloud compatibility in its infrastructure by 2021, using Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core.

The capacities of the new core network are dimensioned to ensure the growing transport and data transmission tasks in view of the massively increasing data streams of its customers over the long term. The operator said that thanks to the independent architecture of the core network, it will be able to realise 5G such as network slicing or edge computing.

“With our cloud-compatible 5G core network, we are entering a new technology era,” said Mallik Rao, chief technology and information officer at Telefónica Deutschland. “Gigabit data rates, real-time communication and massive IoT [internet of things] – these visions are now becoming reality.

“We have a clear plan for the further development of our network infrastructure towards a standalone 5G network that can handle the massive data streams of the future and open up new digital business models for all our customers. In doing so, we are relying on the latest network technologies that the market has to offer.”

In terms of key use cases, Telefónica Deutschland said it will be able to offer business customers new digital solutions, such as in production, logistics, energy management or connected driving, and also “decisively” advance the sustainable digitisation of Germany as a business location.

For Bell Canada, key use cases with its high-capacity 5G network are mobile 4K video, immersive augmented reality, connected vehicles and industrial IoT automation. Bell Canada expects to expand its 5G coverage to cities and rural locations following the 3.5GHz spectrum auction by the Canadian government later this year.

Bell’s 5G deal with Ericsson builds on a long-standing partnership between the companies, which includes 4G LTE network provision. Mirko Bibic, president and CEO of BCE Inc and Bell Canada, said: “Bell’s 5G strategy supports our goal to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world, and Ericsson’s innovative 5G network products and experience on the global stage will be key to our roll-out of this game-changing mobile technology across Canada.”