First 5G Network end-to-end demonstration by Ericsson

Ericsson has implemented the first end-to-end 5G trial system as the common infrastructure for future 5G services. The successful live demonstration based on joint development with SK Telecom Korea was made on December 21, 2016, in Ericsson’s lab in Kista, Sweden. It used Cloud Core, virtual RAN and over-the-air NR/LTE interworking. A similar demonstration was made with Telefonica on December 22, 2016 involving Cloud RAN.

5G provides the infrastructure and services to meet the demands of the Networked Society and Internet of Things. It will impact the entire mobile network and associated ecosystems, from devices to radio access, IP core and into the cloud.

Håkan Djuphammar, Head of Strategy and Technology, Business Unit IT & Cloud, Ericsson, says: “These live demonstrations with SK Telecom and Telefonica show Ericsson’s long-term commitment to 5G. By leading the development of 5G technologies end-to-end, we are driving 5G technology closer to reality.”

Jinhyo Park, SVP, Head of Network R&D Center, SK Telecom, says: “SK Telecom is pleased to announce the first 5G end-to-end trial together with Ericsson. We will make continuous efforts for world’s first 5G trial service and commercialization.”

In the live demonstration, end-to-end data rates of more than 1Gbps and roundtrip latencies of about 4 milliseconds to a gateway outside of the core were achieved. The 5G New Radio (NR) used 800MHz bandwidth, running on 15GHz.

At the 5G World Summit in London in June, Ericsson demonstrated dynamic network slicing with full management and orchestration of the network. This is the next step where the company demonstrates 5G end-to-end, including an implementation of virtual RAN with a common 4G and 5G radio interworking as part of the demonstration.