The contract will allow Verizon to expand its 5G Ultra Wideband coverage in the US
The contract will speed up the deployment of Verizon's 5G network in the US. (Credit: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson has secured an $8.3bn contract from the US operator Verizon to supply equipment for its 5G network.
The contract is expected to speed up the deployment of Verizon’s next-generation 5G network in the US.
It includes the delivery of Ericsson’s 5G MIMO C-band, low-band and millimeter wave (mmWave) solutions, which will allow Verizon to expand its 5G Ultra Wideband coverage and enhance network performance and user experience.
Last year, the company supplied a commercial 5G mmWave Street Macro base station to Verizon from its new advanced US smart factory in Lewisville, Texas.
Ericsson North America president and head Niklas Heuveldop said: “This is a significant strategic partnership for both companies and what we’re most excited about is bringing the benefits of 5G to U.S. consumers, enterprises and the public sector.
“We’re looking forward to working with Verizon to leverage solutions like Cloud RAN and our Street Macro, adding depth and versatility to 5G network rollouts across the U.S.”
Massive MIMO, Ericsson Spectrum Sharing and Ericsson Cloud RAN (Radio Access Network) are Ericsson’s technology solutions that are part of the Ericsson Radio System portfolio to support 5G services.
In June, the company expanded its Cloud RAN offering to include support for 5G mid-band and Massive MIMO deployments.
The mid-band spectrum support is expected to enable communications service providers to capitalise on their 5G spectral assets to roll out services quickly and efficiently.
Ericsson said that the latest enhancements to its portfolio were developed by partnering with customers such as Verizon.
In the same month, British multinational telecommunications company Vodafone has chosen Ericsson cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core technology to power its core networks in Germany and the UK.
Under the contract, Ericsson will support Vodafone’s entire cloud-native 5G Core Standalone for packet core applications in both locations.
Spanning five years, the UK deployment will see Ericsson working as a key end-to-end 5G network partner for Vodafone.