Photo: Ericsson press release.
NEW DELHI: Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson has won a 5G Core contract from New Zealand’s Spark for the telecom operator’s 5G standalone (SA) network. This follows the successful completion of a three-month 5G SA trial by both companies in 2022.
“This marks a major milestone in the partnership to create the potential for new monetization opportunities from the network slicing, network automation and edge computing capabilities of Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core,” Ericsson said.
The 5G SA trial was underpinned by Ericsson’s cloud-native 5G Core, and integrated with Spark’s 5G Fixed Wireless Access Network (FWA) to test enhanced wireless broadband.
Spark’s 5G SA network will enable faster connectivity speeds, ultra-low latency, and higher bit rates and network reliability, said Ericsson, adding that this creates potential for high-performance use cases such as real-time robotics control, factory automation, and autonomous vehicles.
“Our partnership with Ericsson is another important step in our journey to deliver a nationwide 5G network with enhanced performance through 5G Standalone capabilities. The benefits of this technology include greater opportunities for our partners and better services for our customers,” said Renee Mateparae, Spark’s Network and Operations Director.
“We’re excited to partner with Spark and support their vision of providing world-class 5G services to New Zealand by delivering a smoother 5G migration through the capabilities enabled by Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core technology,” said Emilio Romeo, Head of Ericsson, Australia and New Zealand.
