Indoor 5G: Connect anywhere, anytime

Imagine one family of products to handle any in-building 5G scenario. It’s possible.

Indoor 5G small cells

Ericsson’s indoor 5G small cells are a proven technology for delivering high-performing, secure and cost-efficient networks. With the growth of data-use indoor, is your network performing to its full potential?

#indoor

Indoor small cells explained

Over 80 percent of mobile data is consumed inside – while most buildings lack an indoor 5G network. Yet less than 60% of users are satisfied with their coverage and capacity.

Indoor small cells are designed and tailored to remedy this challenge and boost indoor network performance to a level that creates a ubiquitous user-experience wherever you are.

Ericsson’s indoor small cells are comprised of the Radio Dot System. The Radio Dots are high-performing cost-efficient nodes for 4G and 5G connectivity, built and optimized for deployments inside buildings. These solutions support multiple frequency bands and multiple operators within the same Dot. Ericsson’s indoor small cell portfolio offers an industry-leading, future-proof answer to any deployment, covering large enterprises, startups and consumers.

Frequently asked questions

What are small cells and how do they compare to traditional macro cells for indoor coverage?

Small cells radiate with lower power and are typically mounted at lower height for smaller coverage areas. Small cells are deployed outdoor and indoor while macro radios are only deployed outdoor.

What are the differences between small cells and distributed antenna systems, DAS?

The main difference between small cells and DAS is that the small cell system is an all-digital system with the radio processing is closer to the end users, which benefit performance, ease of deployment and energy performance.

What are the potential revenue streams from indoor wireless solutions?

80% of the data traffic is generated indoor. In addition to provide consistent good user experience for mobile broadband, there are many opportunities to monetize 5G indoor for example by offering network slicing for security, positioning, business collaboration, or premium fan experience at concert/sport venues.

What are the benefits of using a neutral host for indoor coverage?

Allows the venue owner to interact with one point of contact to deploy and manage a multi operator small cell solution and for the CSPs to reduce their cost.

Ericsson and Swisscom

Breaking the mold for multi-operator indoor 5G

Read the full case page

Sharing indoor networks for customer satisfaction

Sharing indoor small cells via neutral hosts is gaining popularity as it allows CSPs to improve customer satisfaction while it simplifies the business case for offering indoor 5G. Property owners see an increased value in buildings and can reach the increasing connectivity requirements from new enterprise tenants.

Mobile-first: The answer to secure and affordable connectivity

The rise of start-ups, co-working offices and remote work has led to increased reliance on insecure Wi-Fi networks, with employees often bypassing security measures like VPNs. Numerous cyber breach reports, and increased costs now call for a future-proof alternative supporting a changing work landscape.

Discover mobile-first

5G for real estate

Learn about the latest connectivity trends in the real estate market in this report by ABI Research and Ericsson.

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Closing the connectivity gap: indoor 5G for small-to-medium enterprise

To deliver a truly seamless connected experience fit for the 5G age, there is a gap to close. Small-to-medium enterprises represent around 90 percent of business worldwide. From stores to offices and workshops, these are the places where we spend most of our time and where users expect a seamless network performance. Despite the glaring facts, most of them still don’t have a real indoor 5G network available. Learn our Ericsson’s new plug-n-play solution enables a new profitable offering for your enterprise customers.

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Why Precise Positioning indoor is an untapped potential for 5G

Precise positioning indoor is a key capability in many industrial and critical areas such as public safety, navigation and asset tracking, and demand for an exact and reliable solution is increasing. But at the same time, deployments lag. Find out how to unlock this untapped market.

Read the blog

Ericsson 5G Precise Positioning

Positioning for indoor networks with Ericsson Radio Dot System

A new software feature using Ericsson Network Location (ENL) and the Radio Dot System (RDS) for locating any 5G device.

What do you get?

Ericsson 5G Precise Positioning is a cloud-native, secure, and cost-efficient, asset-tracking platform with unmatched 3D cellular positioning precision of <1m. It is integrated with the existing network and needs only a cellular connection to run.

Key gains for service providers

Increased ROI and enterprise customer value with sub-meter positioning services
Seamless asset-tracking suitable for various enterprise customers, e.g. hospitals, mines, and warehouses
An all-in-one solution covering 5G capacity, coverage, and positioning

Who can you impact?

Enterprises – offer precise positioning services for indoor enterprise environments and use cases, such as asset tracking and automated guided vehicles (AGV) management.

Consumers – enable consumer-focused use cases, such as user equipment tracking and smart building use cases for public venues and mission critical communications.

The significance of indoor networks in wireless communication has surged as 80 percent of mobile traffic has moved indoors. Advanced inbuilding solutions are needed to overcome penetration challenges for 5G in mid- and high-band spectrums and to ensure uninterrupted indoor connectivity. Learn how dedicated inbuilding 5G performance is becoming undeniable in the evolution of wireless communication.

Learn more

Across all indoor scenarios, the race to capture the 5G market is happening now, and early-mover advantage is key to ensuring a competitive offering in these business-critical markets for years to come. Explore the different deployment pathways that can help you unlock revenue possibilities in business-critical indoor markets today and tomorrow.

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Ericsson and Swisscom solve seamless, high-performing indoor connectivity

Related cases

5G-SMART – a research collaboration for 5G in manufacturing

Proptivity and Ericsson unleash the power of indoor 5G with Europe’s first Neutral Host 5G network

Vodafone Oman brings 5G indoors with Ericsson multi-band Radio Dot System

KT brings 5G indoors with the Radio Dot system

Ericsson and Swisscom bring 5G indoors

Boosting indoor coverage with Radio Dot System Ericsson

XL Axiata, Indonesia: taking off at Jakarta airport

Ooredoo Qatar and Ericsson bring 5G indoors with multi-operator solution

More cases

Indoor Fusion Unit

A compact plug-and-play indoor 5G solution aimed at small and medium-sized businesses such as stores, offices and restaurants. It creates new business opportunities for service providers by adding 5G connectivity for smaller enterprises and branch locations.

Radio Dot System

With the Radio Dot System, Ericsson enables indoor 5G with gigabit speeds, applying the industry’s most competent and secure small cell system. Supporting features like multi-operator and multi-band, 4x4 MIMO, and Indoor Energy Saver, the Radio Dots offer all you need to connect businesses and consumers cost-efficiently indoor.

Indoor Radio Units

High-performing, secure and energy-efficient solutions for single or multi-operator indoor networks in medium to large venues, providing 4G & 5G gigabit speeds and capacity for a lower cost per square meter.

New Ericsson solutions boost indoor 5G capacity and precise location services

New suite of indoor hardware and software make indoor 5G easier for communications service providers (CSPs), enterprises, and neutral hosts to deploy, scale, and monetize.

Further insights

High performance and fast rollout

Join Jessey Huang, Head of Ericsson’s Indoor Product Line, as she visits some key indoor deployment spots in Beijing, and outlines why it’s important to bring high performing 5G indoors with easy to deploy solutions.

5G Indoors - A CSP's perspective

Hear from Swisscom's Dominik Fischer, Product Manager 5G & Inhouse Services, as he outlines the work Swisscom is doing to bring 5G indoors.

Utilizing 5G small cells in the factory

5G is creating incredible new use cases – enabling CSPs to deliver new offerings in indoor spaces, including factories. Join Paul Tse, a Customer Delivery Manager as he explains how Ericsson is using 5G in our Ericsson 5G Factory in the US.

How 5G is giving businesses the innovation edge

In today’s connected world, it's essential for businesses to adopt technologies that enable different kinds of innovation to stay competitive, drive additional revenue, and reduce costs. Here's how enterprises are leveraging the power of indoor 5G to make it happen.

Delivering a consistent, high performance indoor 5G experience

Did you know that most of the mobile traffic is generated indoors and that users find indoor coverage twice as important as speed or device battery life? Let's unveil how to provide true 5G indoor experience while increasing coverage and capacity in a cost-efficient way for service providers.

CBRS: Should the enterprise and building owners care?

Read more about why CBRS should be considered across many industries in this report written by Senza Fili Consulting and sponsored by Ericsson.

Leveraging the potential for 5G mmWave

New spectral opportunities will bring incredible opportunities for CSPs across the world, including indoor deployments.

5G and Wifi

5G NR and Wi-Fi 6 are able to boost bandwidth and capacity while being more efficient than legacy solutions. But, which one should you pick for your specific needs?

Connectivity for the modern urbanite

With over 68% of the world’s population living in urban zones by 2050 (source: United Nations), it is imperative to ensure robust connectivity in major metropolitan areas. Network equipment across urban areas will need to be high performing, compact, cost-effective, and aesthetically pleasing to ensure subscribers are connected as they work, play, and commute. Read the paper.

Cellular Networks for the modern enterprise

Up to 80% of mobile traffic occurs indoors and less than 60% of users are satisfied with their coverage and capacity. Increasing data usage is widening this gulf, as well as a growing number of connected devices per user and IoT technologies. Read the brochure.