Ericsson agreed to collaborate with South Korea-based telecoms operator LG Uplus on the development of 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.
The Sweden-based vendor said the agreement will initially run until 2020 and is designed to help both companies take what they hope will be a leading role in the development of 5G and IoT platforms. LG Uplus was formerly known as LG Telecom and has played a strong role in the development and rollout of LTE services in recent years.
The MoU signed by the two companies covers four key areas: IoT infrastructure, including narrow-band LTE; software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualisation (NFV); global content delivery networks (CDNs); and IoT-Advanced technologies.
Ericsson and LG Uplus said they would establish technology and frequency strategies and work together to prepare a roadmap for long-term network development. The two companies will cooperate in a broad range of areas including research, testing and result sharing, as well as the development of technology and equipment.
Ericsson CTO Ulf Ewaldsson again stressed the benefits that 5G is expected to bring to people, business and society in future "by enabling essentially unlimited access to information anywhere and anytime".
"Realising this transformative vision requires a strong industry ecosystem, and we are delighted to partner with LG Uplus to lead the development of both 5G and IoT platforms," he said.
The announcement by Ericsson and LG Uplus is the latest in a string of agreements and collaborative partnerships designed to promote development and research into 5G and IoT.
For example, last week the University of Surrey officially opened the much-anticipated 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC) as part of efforts to ensure that the UK and Europe maintain a leading role in the development of 5G technology.
The centre now houses more than 170 researchers and has so far attracted more than £70 million (€95 million/$108 million) of investment. The aim of the centre is to define and develop a global 5G network by bringing together academic and industrial partners.
For more:
- see this Ericsson release
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