Ericsson continues 5G rollout in the UK

• Ericsson and O2 have partnered up on a substantial network modernization program, reaching all over the UK

• Products and solutions from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio to be deployed in hardware, software and service upgrades in key cities like Manchester, Liverpool and Cardiff

• The partners are also developing an innovation cluster as part of a trial platform to evaluate future mobile architecture, technology and systems

Ericsson has been selected by O2 UK to deploy its 5G radio access network (RAN) even farther across the UK, upgrading the existing 2G/3G/4G sites as part of a substantial network modernization program.

Following the launch of O2’s 5G commercial network in October last year, the extended partnership with Ericsson includes hardware, software and service upgrades in the West of the UK, bringing greater coverage, voice and data capacity.

Brendan O’Reilly, CTO, O2, says: “We are pleased to be moving forward with Ericsson as one of our primary vendors for our 5G rollout. Telecommunications has never been more important in keeping the country connected, and we look forward to bringing the enhanced capabilities of 5G to our customers.”

Leading products and solutions from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio will be used in the deployment, which include new multiband and wide-band 5G radios as well as new 5G-optimized basebands to build sustainable sites in preparation for future increases in 5G coverage and capacity.

An innovation cluster will also be developed as a collaboration platform to evaluate and test future mobile architecture, technology and systems as O2 builds further towards the potential for network migration to 5G Standalone (SA) architecture.

Ericsson will continue to support O2 with the rollout of commercial 5G in other cities, towns and locations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, bringing enhanced mobile broadband services and increased connectivity to millions of UK subscribers.

Arun Bansal, President of Europe and Latin America, Ericsson, said: “5G will be crucial for the UK’s economic recovery and underpin its digital future. We are committed to ensuring that the UK achieves its gigabit connectivity targets so that enterprises and society at large benefit from high quality connectivity. We are delighted to be continuing our long-term partnership with O2 with this 5G network evolution.

We are proud to expand our world-class 5G coverage, leading the modernization of UK networks as a reliable partner for years to come. Together with all of our customers, we are focused on delivering more capacity and connectivity, especially as networks are more critical than ever.”

Source: Ericsson media announcement