By Oystein Bergmann, Senior Correspondent Scandinavia

Ericsson has entered into a long-term strategic 5G contract with Indian communications service provider (CSP) Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. (Jio) to roll out 5G Standalone (SA) in the country.

The announcement follows the allocation of 5G spectrum in the recently concluded auctions in India. This is the first partnership between Jio and Ericsson for radio access network deployment in the country.

Announcing the partnership, Chairman, Reliance Jio, Akash Ambani says: “We are delighted to partner with Ericsson for Jio’s 5G SA rollout. Jio transformed the digital landscape in India with the launch of LTE services in 2016. We are confident that Jio’s 5G network will accelerate India’s digitalization and will serve as the foundation for achieving our nation’s ‘Digital India’ vision.”

Jio’s Standalone 5G network deployment represents a major technology leap since it modernizes the network infrastructure to deliver a truly transformative 5G experience to consumers and enterprises. The capabilities of 5G SA are expected to drive innovation and build a robust 5G ecosystem and deliver advanced services.

Ericsson’s energy-efficient 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) products and solutions (from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio) and E-band microwave mobile transport solutions will be deployed in the 5G network for Jio.

All products and solutions are deployed on new-build 5G SA networks, designed to maximize the benefits of 5G to CSPs and their customers – whether individual subscribers or enterprise and industry customers.

President and CEO, Ericsson, Börje Ekholm says: “India is building world-class digital infrastructure that will drive innovation, job creation and entrepreneurship across the country. We are happy to partner with Jio in those ambitions, through Ericsson 5G Standalone connectivity, which will be a major catalyst in meeting those digital transformation goals across society, enterprise and industry.”

5G Ranking

Ericsson recently topped the Frost Radar™: Global 5G Network Infrastructure Market ranking for second year in a row. Ericsson was also named a Leader in the 2022 Magic Quadrant for 5G Network Infrastructure for Communications Service Providers report by Gartner.

The Company invests around 18 percent of global revenue in R&D and holds the leading patent portfolio in the industry, with more than 60,000 granted patents worldwide. It is also the holder of the most 5G essential patents.

From setting up the first switch in India in 1903 to providing connectivity across 2G, 3G, 4G and now 5G, Ericsson continues to play a pivotal role in powering virtually every facet of telecommunications in the country.

Ericsson Breaking the Energy Curve Report 2022: 5G network success can be achieved in an energy-efficient way

A new edition of Ericsson’s Breaking the Energy Curve report offers updated advice to communications service providers (CSPs) about how they can become more energy-efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective as they scale up 5G – while also achieving their business goals and sustainability targets.

In the 2020 first edition of the report, Ericsson estimated the annual global energy cost for running mobile networks at about US$ 25 billion. With subsequent global economic challenges, punctuated by the energy crisis and surging inflation, that number is now expected to rise.

These developments further focus the need for CSPs to be even more efficient and sustainable in running their networks. Ericsson’s updated ‘On the Road to Breaking the Energy Curve’ report aims to support them towards these goals.

Executive Vice President and Head of Business Area Networks, Ericsson, Fredrik Jejdling says: “As global deployments of 5G connectivity continue, the benefits of an energy-conscious, future-proof portfolio are becoming more evident. However, it is also clear that the major energy consumption savings such a portfolio delivers across the network can also be strengthened by other actions.”

He adds: “We cannot continue with a ‘business as usual’ approach. We should take advantage of wider network changes and modernization as opposed to piecemeal swap-outs. We must utilize the latest advances in technology to enable energy-saving functionalities and consider the best use of our energy sources. To put it simply, we need to think differently.”

5G has been deployed globally in more than 200 networks since the previous edition of the report. The updated report outlines three steps on how to scale up 5G with sustainability top-of-mind and reduce the total network energy consumption by challenging the traditional industry approach.

Plan differently – focus on a sustainable network evolution; embrace a holistic view of company targets and network realities to allow for network planning and operation supporting business and sustainability ambitions.

Deploy differently – effectively modernizing the existing network is essential when scaling 5G to reduce the mobile network’s total energy consumption.

Operate differently – leverage artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) and automation to maximize traffic performance of deployed hardware with minimized energy use.

As radio access network (RAN) products and solutions consume the most energy across a mobile network, the report highlights the need for CSPs to continually prioritize RAN energy savings as new energy-efficient product generations are released. This is the best way to keep energy use under control while delivering excellent user experience.

The report recommends taking a holistic view of network evolution, expansion and operation to break the upward trajectory of energy consumption of mobile networks. This approach will also help address the challenge of exponential data traffic growth.

It provides guidelines on how to be more energy-efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective while extending the reach and benefits of 5G with new and advanced use cases, thus helping CSPs achieve the overall goal – the projected *Net Zero state by 2050.