Setting standards

From the first analog systems to 2G, 3G, 4G and, today, 5G and beyond, Ericsson’s global collaborations with telecom operators, industries and academia have played a crucial role in developing standards that meet the needs of consumers, different industries and society as a whole. By fulfilling their needs, the tools for a connected, safer and more environmentally friendly society are provided, enabling an enriched life for consumers and increased efficiency for all industries.

As a world-leader in groundbreaking innovations and their subsequent implementation as global standards, Ericsson has become a trusted partner and recognized leader within 3GPP and other major standardization organizations. The diligent effort in this area has been instrumental in building the world of tomorrow through the continuous updating of vital standards to adapt to new requirements in the world of communications. Today, Ericsson occupies a unique position both leading and assisting in the development of these standards for all major mobile and fixed communication systems, creating the largest innovation platform for consumers, industries and society.

What is standardization?

Standardization is a framework of agreements for all relevant parties in an industry to ensure the creation of well-performing systems, products, and services in accordance with set guidelines. The objective is to maximize compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, and quality. Development of a new technical standard within a standardization organization is based on the consensus of different parties, including vendors, operators, end users, interest groups and governments.

Every innovation has its own story, with experts challenging traditional ways of thinking. With a history of leading the way in standardization, a progressive track record of successful product implementations, and a leading-edge position in building the world of tomorrow, Ericsson continuously leads the industry in standards communities to make communication and connections possible, impacting people, other industries, and our society as a whole.

5G standardization

"Standardization is critical in the mobile telecommunications industry.” - Stefan Wager, Master Researcher, Ericsson

Four areas of standardization

With all of this in mind, it’s important to understand the following four areas of standardization, which are critical to the development of communication systems and corresponding ecosystems:

Spectrum and technical regulations

The timely availability of globally or regionally harmonized radio spectrum is a key requirement for the successful deployment of radio systems, including terrestrial mobile networks. Decisions are made by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), regional regulatory bodies, or local bodies on a per country basis – all of whom place technical requirements on equipment to avoid inter-system interference. Additional technical regulations, including physical restrictions on the deployment of equipment, electromagnetic field matters (EMF), and cyber and physical security aspects must also be in place to ensure the successful rollout and use of mobile networks.

Connectivity networks

Here, the rules dictating how to interact in the ecosystem of connectivity networks are set. These encompass, for example, the multivendor interfaces and application program interfaces (APIs) that ensures global connectivity across networks and enable the unprecedented scaling of products.

Ecosystem expansion

Ecosystem expansion standardization ensures that markets using mobile technologies – especially those new to the industry – fully understand and have the ability to properly utilize connectivity networks. Activities within this area also include harmonizing the requirements of such markets within the standardization of connectivity networks.

Implementation components

The standardization of implementation components ensures the availability of the components and technologies needed to implement connectivity network products and services worldwide. Naturally, Ericsson’s efforts in the implementation components area also include participating in open source projects and industries that define and develop components for other ecosystems beyond connectivity networks.