Ericsson to accelerate 5G mid-band rollouts with ultra-light Massive MIMO and RAN Compute solutions

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) has launched three new radios in its industry-leading Massive MIMO portfolio and expanded its RAN Compute portfolio with six RAN Compute products to accelerate 5G mid-band rollouts. The new solutions are powered by Ericsson Silicon – the company’s system on a chip (SoC) range that provides advanced processing capabilities for a rapid evolution of energy-efficient and high-performing networks.

With new mid-band spectrum available, communications service providers can leverage their 5G spectral assets to roll out services quickly and efficiently to deliver a more responsive experience to mobile broadband subscribers. Mid-band bridges the speed, capacity and coverage gaps between low-band and high-band. 5G networks that harness mid-band spectrum at scale will have the power to provide a full-fledged 5G experience for consumers and enterprises.

Per Narvinger, Head of Product Area Networks, at Ericsson, says: “After the first rollouts of 5G networks, now is the time to scale up 5G by leveraging Massive MIMO to a much larger extent. With our new portfolio, communications service providers can speed up their mid-band deployments efficiently with superior performance for their users, while reducing energy consumption.”

A foundation for innovation

Ericsson’s new line of ultra-lightweight, mid-band Massive MIMO 5G radios from its Antenna-Integrated Radio (AIR) portfolio, is designed to ease mid-band deployment for service providers. This enables a full-fledged 5G user experience for subscribers, while reducing site footprint and increasing capacity by more than three times.

Weighing only 20kg, the new radios are up to 45 percent lighter than the previous generation, and 20 percent more energy efficient, featuring passive cooling to minimize costly maintenance site visits. These radios can be deployed from urban high-rise buildings to suburban and rural capacity areas for use cases, such as Fixed Wireless Access, automotive, transport and logistics.

Ericsson has also advanced its RAN Compute portfolio with six new products. These include both indoor and outdoor options for 4G expansions and mid-band 5G rollouts, with up to 50 percent higher throughput and 15 to 20 percent lower energy consumption.

The latest additions to Ericsson’s Massive MIMO and RAN Compute portfolios are powered by Ericsson Silicon with an architecture design that provides the Massive MIMO radios with real-time channel estimation and ultra-precise beamforming, enabling industry-leading coverage and user experience. Additional security has been embedded into the tight co-design of the silicon and the architecture of the launched hardware, ensuring the software and sensitive data are protected.

Ed Gubbins, Principal Analyst, GlobalData, says: “This portfolio launch comes at an opportune moment, as carriers turn their attention to capitalizing on mid-band 5G spectrum. Ericsson’s Massive MIMO radios are an industry standout in terms of compact form factors and lightweight designs, which should help operators overcome deployment challenges. In addition, the stability and strength of Ericsson's custom silicon strategy also sets them apart.”