Hubei and Zhejiang provinces of China were the first in Q1 2020 to call on local Ericsson teams to deliver mission-critical communications infrastructure. This was reportedly installed in days at the regions’ permanent and temporary hospitals.
With the corona threat emerging, Ericsson teams in China provided connectivity to frontline hospitals.
Four base stations in two days
One night in late January, Ericsson teams in China were assigned an urgent task: to support China Mobile Wuhan and China Unicom Wuhan in launching four mission-critical base stations for the Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital.
Work began immediately with the Ericsson team launching two task forces comprising of 18 engineers and technicians to help build out the communications system for the hospital. All hardware systems for all four base stations were installed and live within two days.
In the days to come, communications services were established at three additional hospitals including the Ezhou Third Hospital, Qianjiang New Maternal and Child Health Hospital and the Xiaogan Xiaonan Disease Control Centre.
5G coverage for critical facilities in the Zhejiang Province
In the following month, the Zhejiang Mobile Provincial Group began work on 5 new hospitals to serve as fixed-point diagnosis and treatment institutions for patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19. Ericsson teams were tasked with establishing high-speed, 5G mobile connectivity to support the hospital’s critical mission.
The local Ericsson team coordinated with various onsite project groups and dispatched personnel equipped with masks, integrated protective clothing, goggles, rubber gloves, disinfectant alcohol and other anti-epidemic materials, to formulate a comprehensive emergency response plan, and review and complete the project team members’ epidemic prevention in advance.
Once the installations were completed, the network infrastructure became a critical enabler of services such as telemedicine, teleconferencing and other information-based methods.
These cases highlight how mobile networks are an essential part of the communications backbone that enables health workers, public safety officials and critical businesses to stay connected during this global crisis.
Ericsson continues to closely monitor the development around the coronavirus and is following recommendations from relevant national authorities and international bodies. We are taking precautionary measures to ensure the health and safety of employees, to minimise the impact on the company’s operations and to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.
