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Our 5G journey

Our 5G innovation journey

Ericsson has invested tens of billions of dollars over more than three decades to create the world’s 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G standardized technology.

Building 5G and beyond

Ericsson has been the main driver throughout the development of the 5G standard and has reached several important milestones from 2011 when it all started, until today, when we are powering live commercial 5G networks across five continents.

The next wave of 5G expansion will allow businesses of all types to reap the benefits of enhanced mobility, flexibility, reliability and security. 6G research has also started – the target is that 6G should contribute to an efficient, human-friendly, and sustainable society through ever-present intelligent communication.

(2011) Starting the journey 

We started our 5G journey as far back as 2011, when we initiated discussions among the top four mobile infrastructure vendors to ponder 4G's successor.

It was important to involve our customers in the conversation from the start to understand their ambitions and unique challenges.

Starting the journey (2011)
Early years (2012-2015)

(2012-2015) Early years

In the early years, we managed the METIS project, collaborating with universities and research institutes to address the challenges of 5G mobile and wireless communications.

Our key activities included building a 5G radio testbed and proving several tech concepts, including 5G-LTE dual connectivity and 5G data rates exceeding 5Gbps.

(2015-2016) First 5G awards

Our early involvement in 5G was recognized by several awards. One of them was "Biggest Contribution to 5G Standards" at the LTE and 5G World Awards.

More awards

  • "Biggest Contribution to 5G Development" at the LTE Asia Awards, 2015
  • "Advancing the road to 5G – evolution to 5G" at the Glotel (Global Telecoms Award), 2016
  • "Outstanding Contribution to Standard Development" awarded to Ericsson 5G Program, at the Glotel, 2016
First 5G award (2015-2016)
Tests and trials (2016-2017)

(2016-2017) Tests and trials 

5G advances

Landmark 5G patent application filed – the largest in the world in terms of inventors in the cellular industry (source: Derwent Innovation).

  • Test peak rates of 15Gbps per user, and a latency below 3 milliseconds (with Telia)
  • 25Gbps downlink throughput (with NTT DOCOMO and Korea Telecom)
  • Record-breaking 5G trial, reaching 3.6Gbps at 170kph (with SK Telecom and BMW)
  • Performed the world’s first federated end-to-end network slicing live demo, providing end-to-end network service between Korea and Germany (with SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom)
  • Multiple 5G New Radio (NR) trials
  • 5G network tested at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (with Verizon)
  • First public 5G live network use cases deployed in Europe (with Telia)
  • Ericsson and Qualcomm, in collaboration with leading communications service providers, showcased 5G NR Non-Standalone (NSA) multi-vendor interoperability, as the standard was approved
  • First 5G deals signed (with Vodafone UK, Swisscom and Verizon)

(2018) 5G firsts 

With multiple trials and tests completed, we began to test 5G in commercial networks for launch the following year.

Ericsson connected a smartphone prototype to a live 5G network with Swisscom and Qualcomm. With Telstra and Intel, we conducted the first end-to-end multi-vendor 5G commercial network data call over licensed 3.5GHz spectrum.

Additionally, we were the first to successfully perform interoperability tests with third-party device chipsets in low, mid and high bands.

Tests and trials (2016-2017)
Advancing 5G (2019)

(2019) Advancing 5G 

2019 was a significant year in the journey for Ericsson and our partners – 5G went live, and so the "race" to patent leadership continued.

  • Ericsson 5G went live in South Korea with SK Telecom
  • Ericsson and MediaTek completed a 5GC and NR Standalone (SA) call on a 2.6GHz band and the industry’s first successful Voice over New Radio (VoNR) interoperability test
  • The first 5G call on 600MHz (with T-Mobile US and Intel)
  • First with live networks in low, mid and high bands

First transglobal 5G data call (with OPPO, Qualcomm Technologies, Swisscom and Telstra)

 

  • First 5GC and NR SA commercial network enabled
  • Ericsson, Mercedes-Benz and Telefónica Deutschland established the world’s first 5G network for automotive production
  • First commercial cloud native container-based Evolved Packet Core for 4G (with Verizon) and for 5G (with Telstra)
  • Established a fully automated 5G smart factory in the US and modernized production in our factories in China and Estonia

(2020) Breaking records 

With 5G fully underway, we set out to both break and set world-first records in the 5G arena.

Ericsson's dynamic spectrum sharing solution (ESS) won Overall Mobile Technology and Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough at the 2020 Global Mobile Awards.

Breaking records (2020)
5G now (2021)

(2021) Further accelerating 5G

Into the beyond

Today, Ericsson is live with 5G in more than 60 countries, powering more than 150 commercial live networks across five continents. This includes multiple service providers in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.

5G makes its way to the mass market: The next wave of 5G expansion will allow businesses of all types to reap the benefits of enhanced mobility, flexibility, reliability and security. By the end of 2026, we predict 3.5 billion global 5G subscriptions and expect 5G to account for 40 percent of global traffic. This will make it the fastest ever wireless generation to be implemented – reaching 1 billion subscriptions 2 years quicker than 4G.

Into the beyond

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5G by Ericsson

5G isn’t just a new generation of mobile networks – it’s transforming the world as we know it.

Ecosystem collaboration key to reaching 5G tech milestones

Ericsson is a key contributor to the standardization of 5G. We are committed to rapidly applying the latest standards to technology development and accelerate the commercial deployment of standard-based 5G networks. Thanks to strong collaborations across the 5G ecosystem, our networks are tested and verified to work with the latest devices and smartphones in the industry.

6G and the journey there

6G research has started. Increasing expectations from society, industries and consumers, combined with new advanced technologies being developed, will eventually give rise to challenges beyond what even 5G can meet.