Telia Company, Ericsson and KTH Royal Institute of Technology launched a 5G network on the KTH campus in Stockholm that will serve as an innovation and research platform for the academia and partner companies.
Sweden’s first 5G network is using a test license and will serve as a testbed for developing innovative new solutions and services. It is the latest result of the strategic partnership between Telia Company and Ericsson, and it will further strengthen the two companies’ cooperation with institutions of higher learning. Earlier this year Ericsson revealed a similar 5G plan with Telia Estonia at the Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), in Estonia.
Johan Dennelind, president and CEO, Telia Company, says: “We are very proud that we are launching the first 5G network in Sweden today at KTH. The network will serve as a dynamic testbed where partner companies and start-ups, researchers and students, can continue to develop solutions for the connected society. This means that Sweden will be at the forefront when 5G is launched commercially in 2020.”
Professor Jan Gulliksen, vice president for Digitalisation at KTH, says: “To be the first university in Sweden with a 5G network is a fantastic opportunity for us at KTH. It gives our researchers, teachers and students a lead when it comes to understanding and developing this new technology before commercial deployment. This is exactly the sort of collaboration that is so very important in stimulating research-driven innovation.”
Börje Ekholm, president and CEO, Ericsson, says: “This is the first 5G network in Sweden using commercial and standardised radio and core products. This project serves as an important step toward launching early commercial 5G services. Building a 5G network in one of Sweden’s most creative environments, the KTH campus, demonstrates Ericsson’s and Telia Company’s joint commitment to drive innovation.”
The KTH campus is exploring vital 5G areas such as autonomous transportation, Internet of Things (IoT), smart buildings and city infrastructure, industry automation and remote VR, making it a natural choice to host this project.
Ericsson and Telia Company have a long history of joint innovation and are at the forefront of 5G innovation in Europe. Already in 2017, the partners announced the first 5G use cases in Europe including a high-speed 5G connection to a commercial passenger cruise ship and a construction excavator remotely controlled with a live 5G network.
Ericsson has worked on several advanced field trials in Sweden and Estonia including explorations into how 5G and other technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR), can create new possibilities for industries and society.
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