This news supports BT-Ericsson’s strategic partnership, and builds on BT’s earlier selection of Ericsson to build BT’s next-gen cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core.
This added news makes Ericsson an end-to-end 5G partner for BT and once the deployment is completed, Ericsson will manage close to 50% of BT’s 5G traffic.
“Our customers deserve the best network and we are delivering. We’re the UK leader in 5G and are excited to be working with Ericsson as a key partner to maintain that market leadership,” said Philip Jansen (pictured), CEO, BT.
“Through this deal, we will continue to drive the best mobile experiences for our customers. The lightning-fast speeds of 5G will help them to develop their businesses, stream a growing choice of content over our network, and stay in touch with colleagues and friends all over the world.”
The expanded partnership will also see Ericsson modernise BT’s existing 2G and 4G Radio Access Network (RAN) infrastructure enhancing customer experience and network performance for BT and EE customers.
Ericsson’s 5G RAN deployment and 2G/4G network modernisation will use solutions from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio. This includes Ericsson Spectrum Sharing, which will enable BT to dynamically share 4G and 5G traffic to enable seamless and cost-effective migration to 5G.
“BT has a clear direction in how it wants to drive its 5G ambitions in the UK and we are delighted to be their partner in delivering that,” added Börje Ekholm, president and CEO, Ericsson.
Having already been selected to partner in 5G Core, we are pleased to strengthen the relationship further with this deal that will deliver high performance and secure 5G to their customers across the UK’s major cities. By deploying 5G in these key areas, we are yet again demonstrating our technology leadership in population-dense and high traffic locations. “
