Ericsson has announced 5G-readiness for operators as it has completed its 5G platform — both for the radio and core network — that’s fully compatible with internationally recognized 5G standards.
The company made the announcement after it released 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) commercial software that’s based on the first 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR) standard.
5G RAN Software comes with newly announced radio products called Street Macro – a new site type that addresses the need of operators to grow in cities with limited available radio locations.
The company said that this 5G software is compatible with already deployed Ericsson hardware through remote installation. However, operators that deployed their network before 2015 will have to upgrade their hardware as well.
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Ericsson said that it will make its software available for operators in the fourth quarter of 2018.
This essentially means that operators who want early implementation of 5G network already have the essential pieces for launching 5G networks this year.
Ericsson said that its 5G upgraded network achieved speeds of 20Gbps during a field test in Torino, Italy.
With high speeds, Ericsson claims, operators will be able to reduce bandwidth costs by at least 10 times compared to current 4G deployments.
It merits mentioning here that the Ministry of IT had moved its policy directive for Pakistani operators to test 5G in the country.
Moreover, PTA is now also allowed to allocate trial spectrum for operators who want to test 5G on their networks.