These deployments include a high-speed 5G connection on a commercial passenger cruise ship anchored in a port that will provide internet access to the ship and its passengers, as well as an industrial use case with an excavator remotely controlled live via a 5G network.
This step represents an important milestone in plans for the use of 5G networks on a global scale, and puts Ericsson, Intel and Telia (especially the latter company's customers) closer to the goal of making 5G-based services a reality in 2018, both in Tallinn and Stockholm, two of the most digitized cities in the world.
Gabriela Styf Sjöman, Global Network Director at Telia, stated: “We aim to be pioneers in 5G technology, bringing it to life in Stockholm, Tallinn, and Helsinki in 2018. We are collaborating with our partner ecosystem to analyze the powerful impact this technology will have on our customers and society as a whole. It’s not just about creating a new network, but also about establishing a new way of thinking and perceiving the true meaning of a mobile network and all that we can do with it. High speed, low latency, guaranteed capacity, and true mobility will help us go further in the field of digitalization, and we want to be there, driving this new technology forward alongside our partners.”
The early deployment of 5G solutions in real-world environments is essential for the industry to understand the integration capabilities of diverse technologies across different types of businesses, as well as the environments that deliver the best results and the interoperability between systems on the network, in the cloud, and on devices. Telia and Ericsson announced a joint roadmap in 2016 aiming to enable Telia customers to enjoy 5G services by 2018 in Tallinn and Stockholm. Now, in collaboration with Intel, the first examples of these services have been implemented in consumer and enterprise use cases.
The use of 5G technology in a real-world environment in Tallinn was launched at the city's port to test and explore the new mobile technology's ability to provide faster data connections and improve the quality of that access. During the trials, conducted in September 2017, 5G technology was deployed on a commercial cruise ship while it was docked in the port. The technology enabled Wi-Fi access for 2,000 passengers and the ship's own communications and information systems. This was the first example of the numerous ways 5G technology will provide access to services in transportation, in addition to the high-bandwidth gigabit wireless services it will offer users.
The solution used to support these use cases in Estonia is supported by Ericsson and Intel technologies: an Ericsson 5G base station consisting of an antenna, a radio and a 5G baseband and the Intel® 5G Mobile Trial platform, which provides millimeter wave and extends Telia's mobile network to 5G technology.
Arun Bansal, Ericsson's Director for Europe and Latin America, commented: “Our own report on the business potential of 5G technology has identified enormous opportunities for telecom operators worldwide who are addressing the digitalization of their sectors using 5G technology. We estimate that they can benefit from market opportunities valued at $582 billion by 2026, representing a potential 34% increase in revenue. Capturing this market potential requires investments in 5G technology, as well as business development and the implementation of new models for commercializing solutions and services.”
Asha Keddy, vice president and director of the Next Generation and Standards Group at Intel Corporation, says, “Our collaborative work on early-use 5G trials and the experiences they will deliver across various industries demonstrates the importance of collaboration and the need for seamless data flow across the network, cloud, and devices to make 5G a reality. Intel’s 5G platforms are essential enablers in our current real-world 5G trials with service providers around the world, providing us with critical insights and helping us shape the future of 5G.”
